Coming Home
by Dawn of a New Eclipse
Summary: Lured back to a city he help build nearly a hundred years ago, Klaus returns find it on the brink of war and in the midst, a pregnant werewolf carrying his child. He must fight to protect what he holds the closes while trying to regain what he was forced to leave behind. And he wasn't the only one...
1. Chapter 1

Family is power. They swore it to each other a thousand years ago with a pledge to remain loyal. Now, centuries has passed and the bonds of family is broken. Time, tragedy, and hunger for power have torn the Mikaelson family apart.

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Lured back to a city he help build nearly a hundred years ago, Klaus returns to the city he once called home to find it on the brink of war and in the midst, a pregnant werewolf carrying his child. He must fight to protect what he holds the closes while trying to regain what he was forced to leave behind. And he wasn't the only one, with witches, vampires, and even humans, fighting for control of the city, who will come on top in the supernatural game of chess.

The sounds of nearby forest animals could be heard scurrying about the woods as two motorcycles rolled to a stop one after the other. The first motorcyclist set her feet on the ground to anchor both herself and the bike staying put as they visually searched the area.

They hadn't seen what they came searching for so they continued on down the dirt road following the tire tracks until it turned into footprints. Together, they dismounted the bikes after making sure the bikes were properly secured and the engine off.

"Looks like the tracks end here," the owner of the first bike said bending down to examine the tracks while the second rider kept a lookout for anything or anyone that might be lurking. "And continues on in that direction," he points north and the look out turns in the direction he points. "She wasn't alone"

"How many?" The second rider turned her brown hazel eyes on him and he stands up.

"From the different shoe patterns and indentations," she walked beside him squatting to study the footprints and saw that some had swirls while others were more smooth and flat, "I'd say three or four. But why lure her here, there's nothing out here for miles?"

"Nothing except the cemetery," she stood having put the pieces together.

"What could they possibly want with her?" It didn't make sense. Werewolves and witches weren't allies and they weren't known for being friends. Though the way the witches had come upon this particular werewolf wasn't exactly in the friendliest of ways.

"I don't know," she shook her head, but she knew just the person to ask to found out.

Lafayette cemetery was a place Charlotte Gray's knew all too well so she thought that it was only fitting that it was the reason behind her recent return. Not only was it the reason she left New Orleans twenty years ago, it was also the place where The French Quarter witches practiced their ancestral magic.

"It doesn't look like anyone's home" Jaxon, Charlotte's older brother said walking around the small tomb the French Quarter witches were know to hide out at. "It appears that no one has been here for a few days, including Hayley."

"I think I know where she went." Jaxon turned to see her holding a white sheet that she found while searching the tomb. He walked over to her as she exclaimed. "I recognize the scent on the sheet."

"One of the witches?"

"No, someone else. Someone far worse"

"Tell me," he demanded.

"Not here," She whispered looking over her shoulder fearing someone would walk in any moment and discover them. "We need to get out of the French Quarter, get somewhere safe."

He answered with a nod noticing the severity of the situation even if he didn't understand the reason behind it, "I know just the place."

Charlotte followed Jaxon to a maroon house just outside the quarter that looked to be abandoned. She said as much as she pulled off her helmet and studied the structure in front of her. It was a three story manor with vines covering the front and sides and shrubs out front.

"That's the point." Jax answered her comment about it looking abandon got off the bike. He at the front door by the time she gotten off her bike and when she walked over he was grabbing a key out from of a rock hidden in the shrubs.

"How did you know that where's there?" she inquired watching as he stuck the key in the door.

"Did you know the people who lived here?"

"Yea," he turned the knob and pushed up the door and looked back at her. "We did." He stepped inside and flicked a switch but the house remained dark though it was no surprise. Gray's manor had gone inhabited for the last twenty years. So Charlotte wasn't surprised about the lack of lighting or the amount of dust that had collected over the furniture when she pulled the covers. Jax looked for candles as she uncovered the furniture.

She began to look around trying to find something familiar about a place she hadn't stepped foot in since she was five. She spotted a table full of pictures against the wall behind the couch and walked towards the table. She picked up a framed photo after removing the cobwebs and dust. She saw a smiling blonde toddler holding a brunette infant and immediately recognized the smiling blonde boy as her brother. Meaning that she was the infant he was holding, which also meant the women sitting beside them on the couch with matching blonde hair was their mom.

"I found some candles. They were in a box in the attic" Jax abruptly stopped when he saw Charlotte looking at a picture of them as children. He sat the box on the table beside the couch and stood behind her looking over her shoulder. "I remember when that was taken. You had just came home from the hospital and mom wanted to get a picture of you for your baby book but you refused to cooperate with her. She was about to give up and was putting the camera away and told me to look after you. You took one look at me and smiled. It was a look of complete trust."

She turned to him, "and I always will," she looked back at the picture she still held in her hand. "I just wish I had memories the way you do." She turned and sat the picture back down walking over to the box of candles.

He walked beside her picking up a few of his own. "My memories serve to make things more painful for me." She looked at him. "Remembering how things were also means I have to live with knowing they will never be like that again. You're lucky you don't remember anything."

"I do. It's just none of my memory's are happy." She said studying the crystal candle in her hand. "They're all bad." She placed the candles on the table removing the box and lit it bringing some light into the room.

She did the same for the rooms downstairs as well while Jax took the upstairs room making sure that they weren't next to anything flammable.

"I've finished placing candles in the hall and upstairs room."

"And downstairs is lit up like a Christmas tree," she said tossing the box on the couch. "But we seriously have to think about a less fire hazard way of bringing light into this place especially since we might be here longer than either of us thought."

"Tell me," he quickly moved to sit in the couch in front of her. "Who else did you else scent in the tombs other than Hayley?"

"An original," she sat down in front of him on the coffee table, "and not just any original, but none other Niklaus Mikealson"

"Are you certain?"

"I'd remember that smell anywhere" she had ran across that smell only once in her life when they had tracked Hayley to a small town in Virginia Mystic Falls. Their trail lead them to the house of only two, one that was the house of another werewolf Tyler Lockwood and the home that of the Mikaelson Clan.

She got up no longer able to sit concerned over the news."And if The Originals are back it's for a reason, and whatever that reason is it's clear that Hayley and the witches are part of it." She turned to him. "It's also mean that it's safe for them to come back and that can only mean one thing"

Jax knew what that one thing was and became alarmed. "You think Klaus finally did it? You think he finally was able to kill Mikael?"

She knew that would be the only reason why Klaus would ever come back to New Orleans.

"Yes, which means there is no other weapon forged that can kill an original. Mikael was the only thing Klaus was afraid of and now that he's dead they can finally stop running and build a home. New Orleans would be the best place for them to start. This was the place they were the happiest. They helped build this city to what it is now. They had a life here, a home. Before Mikael was finally able to track them down."

"You think they've come back to reclaim what they've lost? What was taken from them?"

"Yes" she said with certainty.

"And if Michael is really dead? How do you expect we get Hayley away from them when he was the only thing that they were ever afraid of?"

"I don't know" she didn't even know what connected her to them in the first place. "But I'm not about to lose her not when I've come this close to getting everything I've ever wanted. We've been through too much just to stop now."

"Still begs the question what do we do?"

"We don't know enough to do anything and we can't risk Hayley's life anymore than it already is. We have to know more before we act. Not knowing could get all of us killed." Without knowing Hayley's role, they couldn't act until all the facts had been gathered and a plan set in motion.

Jax gave it some thought. "I bet Klaus's old friend Marcel would know. After all, Klaus taught him everything he knows. Maybe we should pay him a little visit."

"We should," she agreed. "But only to watch. I have a feeling Marcel is as much in the dark about what Klaus is up to as we are. And Klaus can't be too happy that Marcel deserted him and took over his city. We may be able to use this to our advantage."

"How?"

"Now that he no longer has anything to fear from his father nothing can stop him from reclaiming the city and we both know Marcel isn't going to be too accommodating which could only lead to one thing. War, and while Marcel and Klaus are duking it out to become king of the city were going to take it from them."

"How?"

"Oh by doing what I do best." She stood behind her brother placing her hands on his shoulder, "Stirring up trouble, causing a little mayhem, and all destroying an empire in the process."

"As long as you leave Agnes to me."

"I promise you brother you will have your revenge and so much more. We're going to take back what's ours and we're going to make them pay," she wrap her arms around his neck placing her chin on his shoulder. "We're going to make them all pay."


	2. Chapter 2

Jax was up and out of the house before nine o'clock leaving Charlotte to her own alone with nothing to do. So she decided to explore. She started with the attic and made her way to the basement going from room to room going through draws and checking closets.

Most of them were empty. Some had a few odds and ends hidden inside but nothing worth any interest so she'd try the attic again. It was where most things were stored and from her initial glance she thought she might find something of hers from the past that wasn't routed in darkness. She wanted just one happy moment to connect to.

Even though Jax said it would be better if she didn't but he didn't know what it was like to have a memory that wasn't filled with death or betrayal. He didn't always have to live in fear. He wasn't seen as an outcast. He had family and friends. People who weren't afraid of him because of what he was or what he could do,and as much as he tried to he could never truly understand.

She was hoping to discover something hidden in the boxes lead her to a memory worth holding on to. She started with the boxes that were closes to her and began going through them. She rummaged through the boxes that were labeled and found some clothes and toys from when she and Jax were younger and old photos albums. Some contained pictures of her and Jax others were pictures of her mom and grandma. She sat that box aside to show Jax when he returned. She went through a few more boxes before returning downstairs with the photo albums, throw pillows and blankets, even a few articles of clothing.

She sat the boxes in her room and went downstairs to straighten up to pass the time until Jax arrived. She was putting the throw pillows she found in the attic on the couch in the parlor when he walked carrying a grocery bag.

"Don't tell me you were out getting groceries all this time and only manage to come back with a single bag."

"No, I had other things to attend to."

"Care to share," she said following him into the kitchen.

"Well for starters I went down to the county records office to get the house put in our name. Got the lights and the water turned on."

She walked over to the sink and turned in the faucet the water came out brown from lack of use but quickly cleared up.

"I thought you might want heat and running water if we plan on regaining our home. That is still the plan? Use Klaus so we can take back the city and repay the witches for what they've done to our family?"

"Yes, and I've been thinking about that. It's not enough to take the quarter away from him. I want to everything and everyone he loves away from him"

"He handed her a box of her favorite cereal that he picked up from the store. "And I think I know just how to do that." She studied him curiously. "Do you remember mom telling you about the harvest?"

Yeah," she walked over to the cabinet getting a bowl. "The elders of the coven picks four girls out of the community to sacrifice to appease the elders to keep their ancestral magic flowing and at the reaping they'll be resurrected. I also remember I was to be sacrificed as well only it wasn't for the harvest and I wasn't going to come what does that have to do with anything."

"One of the harvest girls, Davina Claire was taken by Marcel before the ritual was completely and is now under his protection."

"Isn't that a good thing."

"It would be if he wasn't using her to control them. She can sense when magic is being done. I barely got away from a couple of vamps. Well not before making them talk."

"You're thinking we could flip her. Get her on our side."

"A powerful witch like Davina can be useful."

"Okay, you work on Davina. I'll find Hayley. See what her connection is to the original family. But be careful. If Marcel did save her than she's bound to be loyal to him. If we want her on our side we have to give her a reason not to trust him. Think you can do that?"

"If it means taking down the witches, count on it."

"Well before you go taking on the world you have to eat something. Were both going to need our strength if we plan on taking down the witches plus two very old vampires. Marcel and Klaus are both smart and dangerous. If we really plan on taking them on we have to be smart about it and not rush anything. You also gotta take care of yourself."

He turned to get a bowl and she finished fixing her breakfast. He returned back to the counter. "Where are you going to start looking for Hayley."

"I thought I'd I check a few places around town. If she was held by the witches then they must be planning on using her. They also probably used her to lure the Mikaelson's in town so they can take care of their vampire problem and to get Davina back. What I don't get is Hayley's role?"

"I've been wondering the same thing." He said watching her shovel a spoonful of golden crisp down in her mouth. As a habit he leaned over and whipped the milk sliding down her chin. "If she is apart of the witches plan you can bet Marcel doesn't know anything about her." he sat back in his seat and she whipped away any excess food from her chin. "Which might be a good thing considering he chased the wolves away decades ago. He wouldn't be too thrilled to learn that one was staying right under his nose."

"All the more reason to find her before he does." She sat her bowl in the sink and kissed his cheek.

He watched as she left waiting till she was gone before pulling a folded up piece of paper out of his back pocket unfolding it. He studied the M monogram on top of the red sheet of paper followed by the words Arbitrary Where the party never ends that he had picked up off a guy of Marcel's who was handing them out to the tourist on the street as they passed when he got an idea and stopped off at the magic shop before going home. He was going to need a few items if his plan was to work.

He walked into Jardin Greys for the items he would need when a black girl with naturally thick curly hair stepped out from the back.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked as he skimmed the shelves.

"No," he said curtly and stopped when he found what he was looking for. "I know exactly what I'm looking for."

He picked up a few more ingredients before going up to the counter. The store clerk rung him up and he spotted a little trinket for Charlotte on a small rack on the counter that he added with the rest of his purchases and left out the store.

Intending to keep his plan secret from Charlotte he left without telling her where he was going and she came back down after her shower.

"Jax," she called after she didn't find him in his room checking the last place she saw him which was the kitchen. She saw no sign of him there or any other part of the house so she grabbed her cell and called him.

He leaned back far enough to retrieve his phone from his pocket without falling from the stool and slid his finger over the red button sitting his phone on the table. He returned his attention to the mirror behind the bar at Rousseau's and continued watching Marcel nursing the scotch the bartender poured nearly a half hour ago when he first walked into the bar having followed him there.

He was attending what appeared to be a meeting of some sorts with a few of the vampires he had spotted around the quarter. Lucky for him, none of the vampire's he had ran into where at the meeting not that it made a difference to them if they were. They were in a crowded place and Marcel wouldn't risk exposure and he was sure he would be able to loose them in the crowd if they were to follow him. Though he would consider that an inconvenience and it would put a serious kink in his plan.

As it were, he was in the clear so the only thing he needed to do was not get caught and he could continue on with his plan. Which for the moment, meant staying out of sight while he gathered the information he needed on his empire and his witch. He was sure he was hiding her somewhere close. He just had to figure out where so he can begin to turn her to their side. Her cooperation wasn't necessary for their agenda but it would help to have her as an ally. First he had to find her. He knew Marcel was the key to that. He would just keep following him until he did.

Marcel stayed in the bar for another fifteen minutes before he and his group left. In that span of time he'd had a totally and two drinks and stared at the bartender behind the more than a handful of times. A small smile graced his lips each time as he did which made him wonder what the story behind that was. He also began to wonder whether or not Marcel's apparent interest in the bartender would be some use to him and decided to file that bit of information away for the future.

He sat a twenty dollar bill on the table and waited ten minutes after Marcel left before following him. He kept a safe distance the entire time he made his rounds to different spots in the quarter before stopping at Saint Anne's Church. It made him curious as to what Marcel could possibly be doing in a church. He didn't seem to be a hangout spot for vampires. Before he could ponder the idea any further, his phone rung. He took it out his pocket without checking to see who was on the line, not that he needed to, he turned it off and slipped the phone back into his pocket and watched as Marcel walked out.

He waited until Marcel was nowhere in sight before he walked inside. It had been a while since he stepped foot inside of any church. Let alone Saints Anne church. It was his mom and grandma's place of refuge and after his mom died and his grandmother was forced to send them away, he couldn't find the solace it in anymore.

The only thing he could find it in was Charlotte. She was the only good thing he had left in his life. The only thing that made life worth living and kept him going. Her and his need for revenge was the only that he had left. So when a witch told them about Hayley being the key to everything they wanted. Charlotte's want of a family and Jax's need for revenge could all be obtained if they only found her. He didn't hesitate to take the opportunity. If not for himself then to give Charlotte the place of belonging she'd been searching for and the family she'd deserved.

It was the motivation behind everything he did including doing the one thing he promised himself he would never do and that's return home. But it was Charlotte, and he'd do anything to make her happy. Including casing out a church due to a hunch he had regarding the whereabouts of a powerful teenage witch that he wanted to use in a revenge plot against the people who destroyed his family.

And in his searching the church, he found the attic and in that attic he found a girl leaning in front of a coffin. Inside of the coffin was a well dressed man in a suite with something piercing his heart.

He could sense it was forged out of a magical element and concluded that it must have been what was keeping him in his current sleep like state and for them to have simple subdued him rather than just killing him he must have been pretty powerful and the only powerful being Jax knew that couldn't be killed was an original.

If that were the case, how did he ended up with a magical sleeping agent in his heart and in the hands of Marcel Jackson asked himself as he backed away from the door. He pulled out his cell phone and called Charlotte.

She was sitting in the parlor reading a journal she found in the attic when her phone vibrate across the table she leaned forward and then back and answer the phone

"I found Davina." She heard as soon as she answered.

She dropped her feet to the floor. "Where?"

"In the attic at St Ann's Church. I've been tracking Marcel and followed him here. I don't think he was there for confession so I waited for him to come out and took a look inside. It doesn't appear that anyone's been there in quite a while."

"So it'd be the perfect place to stash her."

"Along with the body of an original, there was one laying daggered in a coffin and from his attire I'd say it was Elijah Mikealson."

"She's keeping an original as a pet," she sat the journal she had been reading on the kitchen counter and poured a glass of lemonade, "and Klaus hasn't burned down the whole town looking for him?" she switched shoulders holding the phone in her left hand and picking up the glass with her right, "that doesn't make any sense."

"It would if he was a gift."

"You think that Klaus handed Elijah over to Marcel?" She asked incredulously though also knowing that it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities.

"If I were Marcel I wouldn't want one original moving into town let alone two. It's possible he handed him over to pacify Marcel. Prove his loyalty to get close to him in order to destroy him."

"Using his brother as a pawn for his own power play is exactly would Klaus Mikaelson would do. Question is, how do we turn this into a power play move of our own."

He peered into Rousseau's at the waitress Marcel had been so interested in. "I can practically hear the wheels turning as we speak.

"I wouldn't deny that I'm looking forward to regaining all that we lost. And gaining the trust of an original and a powerful New Orleans witch is the first step."

"If that's the first step I shudder to think what comes next." He entered the bar and sat down at the counter where he knew Camille was serving, "no doubt something wickedly delicious."

"Oh it would give me great pleasure," she said with a sly smile thinking about all the possible ways in which she could bring the leaders of the supernatural community to their knees. But she also knew she couldn't get ahead of herself. "Once I get Hayley away from any potential fallout, and I think I know just how to do that. First, I have to find her. You find out anything else about Marcel's empire that we could use "

"No" he watched Camille walk away from the table she was serving to tend to a few people at the end of the bar, "but I think I've just figured out where to start."

"Keep me posted."

"Yeah, you too." He hung up as Camille made her way over to him and put away the phone.

Charlotte did the same the need to find Hayley and make sure she was safe reignited by the phone call. Oddly enough the idea of how to find her came from her brother. She just had to get her hands on a few building permits, which was surprisingly easy and in no time at all she found herself parked outside a white three story house in a black Mercedes with Louisiana tags. It was parked outside of their home with the door unlocked and the key already in the ignition.

Another one of those errands her brother had made. Turns out he traded her bike in for something a little more practical and that wouldn't stand out or draw too much attention, which turned out to be quick thinking on his part considering she was parked outside the Mikaelson home in broad daylight like some kind of stalker, which she kind of was, and was glad her brother thought to tint the windows so she wouldn't be seen.

It made spying that much easy though there was nothing happening inside, something she was thoroughly disappointed in. She scanned the house floor to floor room by room until she caught of glimpse of who she was looking for.

On the top floor, doing not much of anything, stood a young women with her back turned to the visible window. She strained her eyes a little harder to make out her features but all she saw was brown hair similar to her own and tan skin a shade or two lighter than her own. The only indication that she was who she thought she could have been was the crescent mark tattoo on her back.

She knew she had came to the right place. She just wasn't sure what to do now that she had found her. She could just go knock on the door and tell her who she was and show her the letter she was left with explaining everything.

And if it wasn't for her being scared of the reaction she would get then she would have. The Mikealson stationed inside was another reason she resisted the urge to go in. She wasn't sure she could trust him with the information without knowing what connected the two.

This Mikaelson by appearance alone was Niklaus. The vampire werewolf hybrid resulting from an affair his mother had. He was also ruthless and cunning someone you never wanted to cross and whose bad side you never wanted to get on.

She had no intention of doing either.

"Marcel," Klaus picked up his phone in greeting, "my oldest and most trusted friend. What can I do for you?"

She couldn't hear Marcel's respond due to a car passing but saw him stand from the chair he was in as Hayley came downstairs.

"I'll be right there." He hung up and turned to Hayley. "I'll be with Marcel most of the day. Make yourself at home and don't leave this house." He commanded and left.

Charlotte waited until she saw his car pass her to pick up her phone. "Heads up, Klaus is headed your way."


	3. Chapter 3

"The city of New Orleans...people of all stripes and flavors all over the country come here to party on our streets. Some are just looking for fun...some are looking for something a little more dangerous. So we invite them into my home and we give it to them." Jax watched Marcel and Klaus from a high vantage point making sure to stay out of sight as he had been after getting the call about Klaus from his sister. It lead him to the arbitrary where Marcel was throwing a party for the locals and the tourist. He also used the occasion to show Klaus how he ran his empire. "Then, at the stroke of midnight, everything changes, and it's time to fed." As he explained, a group of his vampires starts to attack the party goers.

Klaus leaned against the railing and notices the engravement on the stone wall below: it includes the 'M" monogram as well as a coiled serpent Jax can see Klaus isn't too happy about it but he doesn't comment on it.

"This is how I keep my guys happy," Marcel continued in grandeur, "the occasional, all-you-can-eat buffet. My night-walker's love it. I've got 'em working hard trying to earn one of these daylights rings. They deserve to blow off a little steam. My day-walkers, the trusted few-they just like to party."

"It's quite an operation. Tell me-what about the victims? Seems like a lot of graves to dig."

"Can't kill them all. Too many folks go missing, tourism drops. So we, heal" them with a little vamp blood," As he explains, the vampires begin feeding the humans they feed on their blood "erase their memory send them on their way- no muss no fuss"

"I'm impressed."

"Nothing I didn't learn from you back in the day."

A tall male in a kangol hat vampires approaches the two and starts to tell Marcel about six dead night walkers being killed in bar outside of the quarter.

"Take some guys out there and check it out. Find out what happen." Thierry nodded and complied.

"Looks like you got some business to attend to mate," Klaus turns to Marcel with a small smile, "which means the evening has effectively come to an end" Jax pulled out his cell phone to text Charlotte as he started to walk away.

 _Six of Marcel guys were killed no one seen who done it._

"Where do you think your going?"

Jax turned around to see one of Marcel's vampires standing behind him.

Six of Marcel guys are dead. No one saw who did it

Charlotte merely glanced at the text but didn't respond to it. Her attention was on the read convertible pulling up in the driveway, a blond woman stepped out on the phone.

"Elijah, if not answering your phone is part of your clever plan to get me back to this godforsaken city then well done. I'm here, and I'm worried. Now pick up before I kick in your bloody door."

She walked up the front steps and opened the door walking in as Hayley's came down the stairs, wielding a fire iron as protection.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, you must be the maid. My bags are in the car. Get them will you"

"Hello," Hayley smiled wryly and puts down the iron poker, "not the maid"

Rebekah quickly realized the mistake she made, "Right, you're the werewolf girl my brother, Klaus knocked up. I was expecting to see some kind of supernatural, miracle baby bump. Guess you're not showing yet. It's Hayley isn't it?"

"You have your brother's manor" she said coming further down the stairs.

"And his temper too, so watch it." She warns threateningly, "Where's Elijah?"

"Beats me. He's long gone."

"What do you mean he's long gone?"

"Well, one minute he was here making epic promises about protecting me in this predicament that a bottle of scotch and some bad decisions got me into. He was all poetic about how we're family and then Klaus told me he bailed. Guess that's what I get for trusting a vampire."

"Elijah is not just any vampire, and he doesn't break promises. Which means Niklaus has done something dastardly and Klaus-like. Klaus! Get out here and tell me what you've done with our brother, you narcissistic, backstabbing wanker!"

Klaus opened a pair of doors and entered the room without Charlotte seeing him come in. It lead her to wonder why her brother hadn't warned her about Klaus coming back in case she had decided to tell Hayley the truth and picked up the phone to call him. It went to voicemail when he failed to pick up. She got a bad feeling when he didn't pick up the second and looked over at the house to see Rebekah and Klaus taken a trip down memory lane. She decided that she had learned all she needed to and deemed Hayley safe enough to be left without needing to be watched and turned on her car leaving the lights off and drove away.

"Jaxon," she called going room to room checking to see if he had made it back home when she didn't find him lurking around the arbitrary. "Jaxon," she frantically called one finally time when she hadn't seen him in any of the downstairs room and went upstairs to check his room. She pulled out her cell phone attempting to call him a third time when he stumbled into to his room from the shower. "Jaxon," she exhaled with relief when she saw him in one piece. "Why didn't you answer I called you two times."

"I was in the shower." She walked passed her into his room and to his dresser.

She turned to him, "no before when I called your cell. You didn't answer. I thought something might have happened to you."

"Yeah well I had a run in with one of Marcel's night-walkers."

"I take it from the lack of bruises and the breathe in your body you got away."

"Barely," he grunted putting on his shirt. "Luckily I had some sleeping powder left over from earlier. What did you find out?"

"A Lot actually, for starters Rebekah's in town."

"That answers the question who killed those six night-walkers." He put on his shirt. "Did you find out why?"

"Yeah, she's looking for Elijah who Klaus so lovingly daggered and put in a box and handed over to Marcel. I also know what connect's her to the Mikaelson's." He looked at her curiously. "She's pregnant with the latest member of the Mikealson clan."

Jax stopped in his tracks."How is that even possible?"

"I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me." She saw now that he couldn't. "But we now know what the witches have over Klaus. Why they lured him back to town."

"Their using his baby as leverage."

"And if we can figure out how then maybe we can break whatever spell their using so they won't be caught in the middle. Any idea's?"

He gave it some thought, "if they lose their leverage then there's nothing stopping Klaus from killing every last one of them so they would have to make sure she couldn't leave, a binding agent of some sort to keep the fate of her and the baby in their hands."

"A linking spell?"

"It's the most plausible explanation."

"So we find a way for you to break it."

"I can't, not with Davina watching the witches move, and I am still a french quarter which. She'll be able to sense it."

"Then we find a way to get her to break it without her knowing."

"How?"

"We get our hands on a spell book. There has to be one around here somewhere right. We just have to find it and hope there's something in there that could help."

"What if there isn't?"

"Then we find another way. Until we do, I think might have found a way to get an original on outside, and I know just the one."

Jax looked at her curiously.

"Are you sure were going to be able to trust her?" Jax asked unsure about the plan. He stood across from Rousseau's once again watching Marcel.

Charlotte followed Hayley from the Mikealson home to the french quarter this time on foot, "No, but it's not Rebekah's trust I'm after." she tracked her down to the witches shop Jardis Gris. "She's just a safe way to get to Elijah."

"Right, his epic promise to protect Hayley and her baby." He said with skepticism certain that they shouldn't be putting any kind of trust in a Mikaelson.

Charlotte could hear the skepticism in his voice and responded, "I get that you don't trust any of them. And we would be right not to given their history with each other, but I know Elijah and Rebekah's right. Elijah doesn't go back on his word. If he made a promise to Hayley then he's going to keep it. His word means everything to him. When it comes to Hayley, he's the only one we can trust." She brought her attention back to Hayley.

"Sorry we're close" the curly hair african-american girl said to Hayley as she walked up to the shop.

"I just need one teeny tiny little herb. Please?"

"Which herb?"

"Crushed aconite flower."

Charlotte looks on with a surprise look on her face. Klaus enters the bar Marcel is in and sits down beside him.

"The corner called." He sat close enough so that he could hear the conversation without being noticed. "He's got my number in case any dead tourists shows up.

"Let me guess-dead tourists with a stamp on the hand and vampire blood in their veins?"

"It happens. Someone takes a drunken tumble off a balcony, or into the Mississippi...And today I got two of them to deal with."

Katie comes back out with two phial in her hand. "Cut with jimson weed. A few drops in hot tea and that should do it."

"Here" Hayley hands her some money but Katie refuses.

"It's an ugly town for wolves. You're doing the right thing."

Hayley walked away with the phial and Charlotte watched her go before training her eyes back to Katie who pulls out her cell phone, "Hey wanna gain some points? Tell Marcel there's a werewolf in the Quarter."

Charlotte head snapped to find Hayley in the crowd after hearing the conversation and looked around for the familiar strains of brown hair but lost her in the crowd. She thought about confronted the little witch who sent vampires after Hayley but knew that it wouldn't do any good. She had to find Hayley. She picked up her phone and called her brother knowing that he was still trailing Marcel.

"I lost Hayley," she said frantically into the,"and Marcel is going to find out that she's roaming around and the quarter and that's she's a wolf. I need to get there first so if you hear anything let me know. I'm going to go back to the house to see if she's there. If you hear anything call me asap." She hung up and headed in the direction that she saw her go towards last.

Jax checked his phone as it vibrated but didn't bother listening to the message putting it back into his pocket. It wasn't until much later, when he overheard Marcel's phone conversation did he bother checking his messages stepping outside to do so. He shot Charlotte a quick text of Hayley's location.

She found her at the park on the bench some minute with steaming hot cup in her hand which she could assume was the tea that was suggested to her. She dropped the wolfsbane into the cup. Charlotte struggled against whether or not to stop her from drinking it. In the end she decided that it should be her choice.

"Come on, Hayley. One upset stomach and all this stupid drama is history," She lift the cup to her face, closes her eyes then opens them and lowers the cup again without drinking sighed and Charlotte started towards her hearing a branch snaps nearby causing Hayley to stands up and look around. She then turns to find a vampire right in front of her.

"Dumb move coming into the quarter. You're coming with me wolf."

"I've had it up to here with vampires telling me what to do." She throws the cup's content into his face and he hollers in pain. She spins around only to be faced with two more vampires.

Charlotte rips off a nearby branch as she makes her way over to Hayley as Rebekah comes over and rip the heart of one vamp Charlotte drives the branch the the vamp's heart who'd got hit with wolfsbane as Rebekah stare at the heart on her hand.

"That's no way to treat a pregnant lady."

The vampire in front of Charlotte drops drawing the attention of both Hayley and Rebekah.

"Take her home." She said to Rebekah and turned to leave.

Hayley reaches out for her wanting answers, "wait."

She stopped and turned back to her. "It's not safe for you to be out here. Return to the Mikaelson compound. I'll be in touch" She left the park and returned back home.

Jax had returned sometime ago and came in after hearing the door close. He looked her over carefully. "From the lack of blood I can assume you made it to Hayley in time."

"Yeah, but I ran into a little problem." She walked past him and into the kitchen pulling and picture of tea out of the fridge. He followed.

"What kind of problem?" he asked eyeing her suspiciously. She turned sitting the pitcher on the counter and looked at her.

"Rebekah, she showed up right before I got there."

"You think she'd tell Klaus she saw you?"

"I don't know." she put the pitcher back in the fridge after filling up her glass. "But that isn't really my concern, Katie. She tipped off Marcel about Hayley I want to know why.

"You're not thinking of confronting Katie are you?" Jax asked highly concerned. Confronting her could mean exposing themselves and that was the last thing they needed.

"Confront her, kill her, I haven't decided, what I do know is that we need answers. But we can't confront her directly without tipping Agnus off so we do the next best thing."

"And that is?"

"Get someone else to do it for us."


	4. Chapter 4

Charlotte stood across from Jardis Grey at one of the dress shops shopping for a dress appropriate enough for a party while on the phone with Jax as she waited for Rebekah to show.

"And you're sure she'll come?" He was a little more skeptical about her plan and the fact that it old hinged on the originals.

"I'm sure." She answered looking through a rack of party gowns. "This was the last place Katie came before she was confronted by Marcel's vamps. She'll come here looking for answers and will get some too." It was the only way to figure out who which one of Marcel's vampire Katie told about Hayley. We figure that out, we can keep her safe."

"The Mikaelson's have many enemies." Jax stated even though she was aware of that fact, she knew she would need to be reminded that no matter how dedicated and determined she is to keep them safe, their ability to do so it's limits. "You can't expect us to take them all on."

And while she agreed with him, she knew she was going to do whatever she needed to to protect them. She had promised her mother that she would and she was intending to keep that promise. "No, but we can make them think twice before they even attempt to. And we do that by setting an example of what can happening if they try. Katie will be the first to learn that lesson."

"Charlie…" Jax said weary of his sister's words. Her tone suggesting to him that she had already came up with a plan that would insure that would happen. He was weary of what that might be.

She hung up when she saw Rebekah and walked towards her.

"I was starting to doubt you were ever going to show."

"How did you know I'd be here."

"Hayley was attacked last night," she looked towards the shop to see Katie setting up inside, "she only made one stop last night," she looked back to Rebekah, "I knew it wouldn't take you long to put the pieces together. I needed to be here when you did."

"You proved yourself with Marcel's crew last night. One little witch shouldn't give you too much trouble. Why not just go and confront her yourself?"

She saw Sophie approaching over head and knew it was time to bring the conversation to a close. "Because it's not safe, and I promised my brother that I wouldn't." She turned back to her. "Bit of a temporal issue, but you'd know all about that wouldn't." She'd looked at her pointedly. "Klaus...And then that's Elijah...Poor poor Elijah." She looked back to Sophie who was approaching fast but didn't appear to have noticed her yet. "Forever destitute to put his family's happiness over his own because of a pledge he made over thousand years ago. And look what that got him. Daggered in box and handed over to Marcel. I guess always and forever doesn't mean the same thing to Klaus."

"You've seen Elijah?"

"No," she denying know that it would serve both of her agenda's. She looked at Sophie he was less than a foot away, "but I know someone who can find him."

She turned around to see Sophie behind her. She turned to back but Charlotte was gone.

* * *

"Looks like your suspicions were right about Klaus getting Marcel to turn on Thierry," Jax reported back to his sister on what he had just seen at the cauldron. She turned and walked over to the mirror and sat down in the chair in front of it. "He just killed another vampire to save the women he loves."

"Thus breaking one of Marcel's precious rules" She smiled pleased that everything was going according to plan. "The most important one. Surely that has to be punishable by death. Leaving poor Katie no choice but to save the man she loves." She started to put on her makeup starting with her mascara. "It's all sort of Shakespearean don't you think."

Jax heard the glee in her voice and knew that he was going to have to reign her in sooner rather than later. "You are aware that if Katie does happen to go against Marcel she will die."

"Lets hope it's not before the locator spell is finished." Katie dying because of it meant to little to her.

"So her life means nothing if it gets you what you want," If she was so callous about it then he feared that she had slipped further into the darkness then he thought. "Are you forgetting she's a part of the same coven that we once called family?"

"And need I remind you brother that the coven you are so keen on protecting stood by and did nothing to help our mother or my family when Marcel killed, exiled and then cursed what little was left." There was a dark undertone to her voice one Jax recognized all too well. "So whatever the little witch gets, she more than deserves."

"Whatever her reasons are, she doesn't deserve to die" And he knew death was going to be her outcome when it all was said and done.

"And you can't save her without exposing yourself. So if she has to die in order to save both you and Hayley then she must die. I'm not about to lose another member of my family at the expense of a witch." She hung up and finished applying her makeup.

Jax returns to their home to find his sister nearly dressed for a night out. He keeps his back to her as he grabs his tux and disappears into his room coming out a half hour later with his shoes in his hand.

He sat down on the couch in there two persons suite and put on his black shoes.

"Are you going to pout the entire evening?" Charlotte asked putting on her long diamond studded earrings. He kept his attention away from her and on to his shoes. "Look I'm sorry about what I said okay. You know how much I how I get when you defend them. Especially given everything they've done to the both of us. But I also understand they're your family just as much as the wolves are mine. And I know you hate not being apart of the coven and I know that's my fault and I m sorry" He looked up halfway through her apology. "Forgive me?" she pouted and it only took seconds for him to cave.

"Yeah I forgive you" She smiled and he stood off the couch preparing to leave for what should be a interesting night. "And I'm sorry too. Being back here brings up a lot of memories for me too. They're just not all bad"

"Well most of mine are so I can get a little touchy about the subject of witches but seeing as how you are apart of them too, I will try and be objective, just not about this." Hayley and her baby life was at stake and she wasn't about to lose either of them due to vampires and witches. "Katie is in league with vampires. The same vampires that stole everything from us. I can't let that go."

"I know." He knew that Hayley was the last remaining connection she had to her family and she was going to fight for her and her baby because she wasn't able to fight for the others.

He just hoped in the process of fighting for them she wouldn't lose herself.

Charlotte and Jax entered the party arm, in arm, taking in the dark wild atmosphere. Acrobats perform, dancers handle exotic animals, and confetti falls glittering upon the party guests.

"Well this is certainly a fighting backdrop to tonight's events" Charlotte commented to her brother as they walked into the abattoir and almost immediately spots Klaus dance with Camille. "Klaus certainly looks enamored. Who is she?"

"She's A bartender at Rousseau's." Jax tells her. "And also happens to be someone Marcel seems to be quite taken with"

"And it would appear that he's not the only one" She said after observing the way Klaus was looking at her. "She certainly can be useful"

"Leave her out of this" Jax warned her as they began to dance. "No one else needs to be brought in to an already volatile situation"

"I'm not the one who brought her in." She said as she watched Marcel stepping in for Klaus over Jax's shoulder. "Marcel did, and Klaus seems likes he's using her to his own advantage why can't we."

"Because she doesn't deserve to be yet another causality in a war that isn't her own." He tried to reason but didn't think logic was going to help him sway her in anything regarded the safety of Hayley and her baby.

"There have been many innocent bystanders who become causality in a fight that's not their own. It's tragic but it happens." She continued to watch the bartender with Marcel. "Besides, if she's with Marcel how innocent can she really be"

Diego enters the courtyard and sees Marcel dancing with Cami and goes to interrupt whispering in Marcel's ear.

"I guess that's my cue to leave" Jax said leaving his sister alone to make sure that he's in the right place to perform a spell of his own.

Charlotte watches the scene unfold from a dark corner in the room.

"What the hell did you do?" Marcel angrily asked grabbing Thierry by the throat and pushing him against the wall and Diego intercedes.

"Whoa, not here. No, not here" he didn't want to draw too much attention to what was happening to a room filled with humans and they take the conversation upstairs.

"I want to hear your side of the story." Marcel demands once they were away from the crowd and Thierry tries to get him to calm down long enough to see reason but Marcel wasn't hearing it so he explained what happened.

Charlotte smiles almost wickedly as she watches the scene unfold and when a vampires produces a piece of paper that held the spell for new daylight rings and she knew she couldn't have planned it better herself.

"Oh and for the crime of murdering one of his own, I sentence Thierry Vanchure to one hundred years in the Garden" Marcel dishes out after seeing the evidence.

And so it begins

* * *

"Was Rebekah able to find him?" Charlotte asked her brother the minute he returned to their home researching something on her computer.

"No," he took of his jacket in discourage and threw it on the couch. "Katie's magic stop before I could finish it. Klaus killed her."

"I assumed he would." She admitted not sounding the least bit broken up about it. "She would have killed Marcel if he didn't and then there was no way they could get Elijah back. This way, Marcel owes him and therefore may be grateful enough to give him back"

"Is that why you insisted we didn't tell them? It wasn't because it was safe if they discovered it on there on. You wanted Kate gone and you'd knew I'd never let you do it?"

"She sent Hayley up to be killed. She deserved to die. And Thierry is Marcel's closes friend. What better way to get put a dent in his army then to think that there's no one he can trust. It's leaves Klaus with the perfect opportunity to become his second."

"And all it took was for Katie to lose her life."

"She made her choice."

"No, you made it for her."

"It had to be done. For now, we need to keep a closer eye on Hayley." She checked the dialect in another language but came up empty. "I stopped by the house before Klaus or Rebekah got back to check on Hayley. Sabine was there giving some kind of witchy test to determine the sex of the baby, it s a girl by the way, when she flipped out and started reciting something that must have been from a dead language because I couldn't any translator that could translate it"

"What was it?"

"Hoc est infantime malom Nos omnia perdetu el eam" She recited from memory. "Do you know it?"

"No" He said regrettably.

"Well whatever she saw totally freaked her out so much so that she might be worried what the birth of the hybrid baby girl could mean for the witches"

"You think they'll try and harm the baby."

"I'd bet my life on it. Which means as of right now my concern is protecting Hayley and not trying to get to Elijah. So we divide and conquer. You stick with Klaus and I'll make sure Hayley and the magical mystical baby stay safe."

"Hayley is under the Mikaelson's protection." He reminded her. "So by definition she is safe. The one you need to worry about Sophie Deveraux. Hayley's linked to her so whatever happens to Sophie happens to Hayley. It would be considerable more easier for the witches to get to Sophie then Hayley."

"So then the find away to unlink her and I can mount Sophie's head on a wall."


	5. Chapter 5

Lured back to a city he help build nearly a hundred years ago, Klaus returns to the city he once called home to find it on the brink of war and in the midst, a pregnant werewolf carrying his child. He must fight to protect what he holds the closes while trying to regain what he was forced to leave behind. And he wasn't the only one, with witches, vampires, and even humans, fighting for control of the city, who will come on top in the supernatural game of chess.

Girl in new orleans.

 _Hayley is under the Mikaelson's protection so by definition she's safe…It would be considerable more easier for the witches to get Sophie then Hayley._

Jax's words plagued her the moment they had left his mouth and left her restless. Her mind churned with all the ways in which this particular scenario could end. There was a chance that whatever Sabine saw could cause the witches to act in their best interest and from her demure after her vision, it was clear that the witches best interest was to make sure that that baby wasn't born. Unfortunately for them, it was also in direct opposition with what Charlotte wanted which made them her main focus leading her to slightly alter her time line.

All she had to find a way to break the connection that's linking Hayley to Sophie and had hoped that her family's grimoire would be able to do it. She just had to find it first. The attic seemed like the most likely place it would be since most of the memorably had been placed there. The problem she faced was locating it before the witches made their next move and somehow finding a way to get Davina to help without her knowing.

Elijah seemed like the best bet since he geographically he was the closes. It was just a matter of getting in without Davina & Marcel noticing along with a number of other seniors working out in their favor like sneaking in without either Marcel and Davian being the wiser and getting Elijah to believe that thereafter the same thing which seemed highly improbable but not impossible. But for any of that to even plausible, she had to find the grimoire.

"Taking a trip down memory lane," she looked up from her position on the floor surrounded by dozens of books but none of them the grimoire to see Jax leaning casually against the door with a cup of coffee.

"Yup, of Jax's greatest hit's, the wonder years," she turned the back cover of the book she was reading and Jax chuckled leaning up from the wall and walked over to her."All mine could probably fit into the bottom of a draw," and then tossed it in the pile with the other bedtime stories. "The one's worth remembering anyway."

"I don't know," he sat beside her and offered her the cup. He looked down at her as she took a sip. "I'd like to think we had a lot more happier times than that."

"And all of them happened when we were on our own and it was just the two of us," she cradled the cup, " and yeah we didn't have a place to stay most of the time and went days without anything to eat but it was still better than this place."

He picked up a children's book from a pile that surrounded them. "I don't know about that."

"I do." The tone of her voice made him turn to her and something he saw there made his face soften. "It was the only time I ever felt safe. Even when we had to sleep in alleys or the little tubes in the park when it was raining. I never felt safe." And it was because she knew that he would always be there to protect her. He was the wall keeping out all the bad things. Even the internal ones.

He cleared his throat affected by her words and looked away. "So I can assume you've rearranged the room looking for the grimoire. Still hoping it'd help you unlink Hayley."

She noticed the change of subject and decided not to call him on it instead let it happen. "I couldn't stop thinking about what you said about Hayley being protected by the Mikaelson's and Sophie being the one I should be looking after. Only I can't do that with her being watched by both Marcel and Agnes. So unlinking them is the best solution and I can't figure out how."

"But you still think Davina's our best bet?"

"As much I don't like it, I do. She's the only one allowed to do magic in the quarter and the only one who'll help us. Plus she's less likely to know we exist and she hates Anges as much as we do which is always a bonus. So how do we convince her to trust us?"

After a moment's thought he said, "with the right incentive."

She waited for confirmation that Klaus was out of the house before she knocked on the Mikaelson's door. Rebekah was the first answer.

"I need your help." She stepped inside by passing Hayley who entered from another room when she heard a female voice other than Sophie's.

"Are you out of your bloody mind?" Esther's grimoire was the last thing she thought she'd think to ask for yet here she was asking her to convince Klaus to let her take a look at it as if he ever would.

"It's the only way to unlink Hayley from Sophie. The only way to insure that both Hayley and her baby are safe."

"They're perfectly safe here." Nobody knew where they were staying or knew about Hayley other than the witches and they were using the Mikaelson miracle baby

"Hayley's never going to be perfectly safe with her life and the life of her little girl tied to Sophie's." If they could agree upon anything, she knew that would be the one thing that they could agree. "Now I believe there's a spell in there that we can use to unlink Hayley from Sophie."

"Even if we could somehow convince Nik,-"

"I'd need a witch. I know. Already got one. Davina. Although she doesn't know it, she just helped us and Elijah."

"You know where he is?" Hayley became excited by the thought.

"I will by the end of the day," by saying that it meant she had leverage to wager for the grimoire. "But I need the grimoire to move forward with my plan. So convince Klaus to part with it and not only will you have Elijah back but Hayley will be free."

"Tell me you know where it is," Hayley said to Rebekah but was interrupted by the door before she could answer. Rebekah looked at Charlotte who took Hayley into another room and stood close by until she had confirmation that whoever was at the door wasn't a threat.

Rebekah let them in and she deemed that it was safe for Hayley to come out and in walked Agnes. She stayed hidden and saw Hayley look back but didn't give away she was hiding.

"Agnes," Charlotte stayed hidden around the corner where she could be see but not be seen. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I thought I'd pop by and see how you were feeling."

"I feel great."

She saw Agnes walk closer to where she was hiding and pressed her back against the wall. When some time had passed, she moved to the opposite that was behind Agnes so there was no chance that she could be seen.

"I still think you should see a doctor."

"I told you Agnes, I feel great."

"You are overdue for a checkup" Agnes was being very persistent which caused Charlotte to be suspicious.

"What am I going to do? Pop into the quarter for a quick ultrasound? A pregnant werewolf escorted by a witch-nothing to see here" Haley said sarcastically.

"A lot of women would kill to have a child." Rebekah commented from where she sat at a nearby table typing on a laptop. "It strikes me as odd that you're not taking better care of yours."

"I know a doctor out in the bayou. Off the beaten path. Now, I took the liberty of making an appointment for you. Tonight, after hours, just us. Vampires will never get word of it."

"Okay, fine." Hayley rolled her eyes and Charlotte knew she was going to give in," "Bayou-baby-doctor it is."

Charlotte hid behind the door as Agnes passed. Hayley gave her a fleeting look before following her out and Charlotte came out from hiding when they were gone.

"I don't trust her." she said to Rebekah still watching the door. "She's up to something." She could feel it in her gut. "I need that grimoire. Now." She stood over her shoulder. "Try starting here," she circled a one block radius of the church. "It's the closest I ever came to finding her and where he makes the most frequent stops. I'd start with here." She pointed to the pit. "It's where he's usually at the most. Then work backwards." She pulled out her phone as she walked away. "I'm going to go keep my eyes on Agnes."

She texted Jax the same words she had to Rebekah as she left the Mikaelson's to give him an update they agreed upon whenever something had changed just in case either one of them were to run into trouble they could be their to help them out of it.

He glance at the text as he walks down Dauphine street enjoying the people and music that he hadn't been apart of since he was a little boy. He could remember walking the same street holding his mother's hand Charlotte on the other side of her. Her brown eyes took everything in and she was just amazed at the sight and sounds.

He walked into Rousseau's with that memory on his mind. It was the last time he'd seen her truly happy and carefree and he was determined to make it happen again. There was only one thing that was going to make that happen and she was sitting across from him. _

Charlotte checked her phone after turning off Jax motorcycle to see a text she had gotten from Jax letting her know that the attic was all clear as Davina was sitting in Rousseau's with Marcel enjoying the street festival.

Charlotte knew that there was no better time for Rebekah to discover Elijah who was severely needed if she were to get the grimoire from Klaus. It also created the perfect opportunity for Jax to go through with his part of the plan and gain Davina's trust given him the green light to do so once Marcel was in the clear.

Being she was also a crucial part of the plan, she needed him to follow through and suggestion ways on which he could do that mostly by pulling out the charm she knew he was capable of processing when he wanted. Davina however, seemed to have been enamored with someone else, according the messages she got from her brother.

She advised him on how to handle the situation offering up some advice on what to do to gain her attention at the very least pique her interest.

 _Ask her to dance while she waits._

Was the last text she was able to send out before she hears a wolf howl and see headlights approaching.

"Hayley," she says when realizes who they're here for and heads for the back of the side of the clinic as the car comes to a stop. She pushes her back to the wall so she won't be seen and gets down low. She reaches a window, she looks up to see Agnes with the guys who had gotten out of the car and searches for Hayley and sees her with a doctor who's preparing a syringe in the next room.

She also sees a window and start towards that since the front is covered and when she reaches it Hayley has locked the door keeping the men trapped on the outside and she uses the new time she's given to burst out the window and helps her climb out.

"Go," Hayley starts to run as soon as her feet hit the ground and Charlotte stays back so she could cut off some of the group before they could reach Hayley.

She waited for the last one to come out before she attacked. She hopped on his back snapping his neck and went after the one with the crossbow who missed the first shot and went to reload a second but she grabbed it from and bashed him over the head knocking him out and went to track down Hayley.

She found one of the guys still standing and fired an arrow straight into his chest. He fell instantly and she pull the arrow out his chest as she walked by.

"Who are you? Why do you keep saving me?"

"I promise I will explain when this is all over." She reloaded the crossbow. "But for now we have to get going there's more on the way." She took two steps away from Hayley before she had turned back around to see her get hit with an arrow. She went down immediately. She came to second later with a gasping cough picked up their things.

The first was the burning sensation in her chest. The second, was the half of dozen wolves that they were surrounded by. The third, was Hayley laying at her feet. It's what caused her next actions of pulling out the arrow from her chest and crawl to her. She removed arrow from Hayley's shoulder and hoisted her up picking her up in the process.

She steadied them both on their feet before looking at the black wolf closes to her. It dips his head and she slowly starts to walk passed it. It turned back to the front bearing its teeth again and lunged forward.

Charlotte could still hear the screams even as the clinic came back into view. It gave her the extra strength she needed to continue walking. It was a bit difficult to do with the substance the arrow was coated in working its way through her system out but she managed to get the both to the steps of the clinic and helped Hayley to sit.

"When you're feeling up to it, call Rebekah. We need to get you out of here." She walked over to the two guys she had took out searching them for answer. She may have doubted anyone would be coming for her but that didn't make her safe either.

She picked up the gun that one of them had dropped behind and stood up pointing it to the person behind her.

"Klaus," she let it fall by her side and looked towards Rebekah who was standing behind him. "It's about it time you showed up." She started back to where she left Hayley and they followed. "I was beginning to think I left Hayley's safety in the wrong hands."

"And I suppose your hands are responsible that," he pointed back at the bodies.

She looked at Klaus from her over her shoulder, "You're welcome." They come to a stop in front of Hayley. "We should probably go. I doubt they'll be back but I wouldn't want to take that chance. We may've been able to stop them but I can guarantee there will be more."

"Who are they?" Rebekah asks.

"A faction of extremists," she recognized the symbols on their wrist. "Sabine must have told them about some vision she had about the baby. Problem is vision like that one she must have gotten from the ancestors aren't usually exact. So I don't know what she saw. But whatever it was was clearly meant to be a warning to the witches for Agnes to go to such extremes." She turned to Hayley to deliver her next warning. "I thought you could trust them, but they're no longer protecting you."

"When I get my hands on Sophie Deveraux-"

"Agnes is the one we need to worry about." She said to Klaus. Agnes was their biggest threat and she needed to be taken out sooner rather than later. She knew she couldn't get close enough to do it but Klaus could. "She's old school and play the rules of the coven. If the ancestors have warned her about your baby, whatever her objective is, she's not going to stop until she achieves it. Hayley's not going to be safe until she's gone."

"Then I'll slaughter the lot of them."

"Not if I've gets there first."

"You both may have to wait in line after Elijah."

"So you've found him?" It was the first good new she'd heard all day and it meant that she was one step closer to freeing Hayley from Sophie and a step closer to making sure they were safe.

"He's been in touch, and he has a plan. All he asks is that we take care of you."

"A really marvelous job you've done so far," was Charlotte's sarcastically reply

"She's alive isn't she." Rebekah motioned towards her "And there's not a scratch on her. She's completely healed." Her brows furrowed at the thought that after everything that she been through, her escape and the trasp through the woods that there wasn't a mark on her. "How is that by the way?"

"One of the perks of being a werewolf, Remember?" Hayley said standing up feeling the effects of the drug wearing off.

"Not that fast," Klaus felt it was odd even for a werewolf.

Charlotte thought it was a bit odd too considering she still could feel the aches and bruises. "It's the vampire blood," Charolette said looking at Klaus and then Hayley. "Klaus's vampire blood. It's in your system through your baby. She healed you."

Klaus knew it was a possibility and smiled at the thought.

"Hey, so can we go home now?" Hayley asked. "I'd really like to sleep for a few days."

Klaus noded and Hailey started walking towards the car with Rebekah behind her. Charlotte started after them when she started to feel the effects of what she'd been through and begin to stumble. Klaus catches her before she could and scoops her up carrying her bridal style.


	6. Chapter 6

Sun shined through the blinds of the open bedroom jarring Charlotte's awake forcing her upright. She took a look around the room with white walls, a bed and single dresser. She immediately knew it was not her own but but she was familiar enough with the house by now to know where she was.

She was able to drop her guard but only slightly until due to no knowing who brought her there in the first place and why. She checked the pocket of her jeans and saw that they were dirty and tattered. The events from the night before slowly returned and with that the it answer the question of how she ended up at the Mikealson place.

She remembered the drug in her system taken effect after the adrenaline wore off and she was sure Hayley was no longer on danger. She collapsed into Klaus's arms before it all went dark. He must have brought me here, she thought before a slight movement from the corner of her eyes had her reaching from a weapon on instant but froze and slowly relaxed when she saw Hayley.

As if reading her mind she said, "we had to wait for the poison to leave your system." She handed her a change of clothes which she accepted. "And of course we didn't know where to take or where you come from. I don't even know your name and yet you keep risking your life to save me and I don't know why."

She got up of the bed and came to stop in front in front of her, "it's what family does," Hayley turned to her with a smiling and followed her. She showed her to the shower where she could bathed and change then left her to it.

She returned when Klaus did with Sophie and knocked on the door. She stepped out pulling her shirt down. "Klaus is back to question Sophie. Thought you might want to be there when he does." She stepped back allowing Charlotte some room. She closed the door behind her and followed Hayley down but kept in the background.

"Ah, well. I grow founder of this child by the day."

"Sophie, look," she looked to Rebekah who she sense was getting impatient and leaned against the wall. "- promised Elijah that I would protect the Mikaelson miracle baby whilst he's try and win your witch Davina's loyalty. Why don't you just tell me how extreme this faction is?"

Charlotte was interested in knowing that herself but Sophie interest laid elsewhere.

"Elijah's talking to Davina?" Charlotte could see how important Davina was to Sophie. It made her wonder why that was.

"I imagine as we speak."

She didn't seem too alarmed about that but she was shocked, "I'd imagine she'd have a lot to say about them."

"Do tell." She looked over to Klaus to see that he was intrigued by the thought of the group but knew he wouldn't have been if he knew what they were capable of and what that could mean for his daughter.

"My sister was devoted like our parents," she decided not to focus on that particular part of the past and instead focused on the sound of Sophie's voice so she wouldn't be brought back to it. "Our upbringing was very strict, which drove me nuts. The minute I turned 21 I left the Quarter to travel...and play. But I wanted to be a chef so I came back to Rousseau's. That's where Jane Anne found me and told me that the elders decided to go along with the Harvest."

"What the hell is a blood Harvest?"

Charlotte looked to Rebekah, "It's a ritual the French Quarter witch coven does every three centuries," she stayed leaned up against the wall as she explained what they other's didn't know, "to keep the ties to their ancestral magic. It's like a replenishment. The prepare all of the girls of the coven for the ritual but only four are chosen out of the group. They make them believe that it's an honor. It isn't."

Sophie studies her closer as something starts to come back to her but the sound of Klaus phone ringing makes the small spark that she had created disappear an

"Marcel," Charlotte leaned up from the wall and stepped outside to call her brother to let him know that she was alright and to fill him in on the faction of extremists that they were all too familiar with and who had went after Hayley. With that being said, it was more important now than ever that he got Davina to trust him so she would help him although unknowingly.

He assured her that was slowly beginning to gain her trust which was progress and much needed if they were going to use her to save Hayley before Agnes could find another way to harm Hayley. She also let him know that Elijah was awake and well that that if he could, he should also try to set up a meeting with him so they could discuss Hayley's situation in private.

So far, Klaus had shown good will towards Hayley and concern for his child but she also knew that he craved power and he has proven numerous times that he couldn't be trusted to look out for the well being of his family by the constant need to dagger them and put them in a magical slumber for years. Who's to say what he would do once his child his born and she wasn't going to sit by and play Russian Roulette with either of their lives.

"I'll see what I can do," Jax replied after hearing about the situation with Elijah.

"There's something else," something that she hadn't mentioned until then because she wasn't sure if she should given how he'd felt but the situation she had gotten herself into and how close she had came to Agnes. "Last night wasn't a full moon we both saw that but I heard and saw wolves when out I was out there last night. And I think, no I know it's them. It has to be."

"But you still want to see for yourself," Jax knew there was no possibility in which she wouldn't want to see what she could find out for herself. Especially if they were who they thought, who she seemed certain that they were, and he had a feeling she had been right.

"I know we made a deal that I wouldn't go looking for them until we found a way to deal with Marcel and Agnes but Jax I saw them. They're out there. I know that they're out there. I can't just ignore that and neither will Marcel. He has to know about last night already even if he doesn't know about Hayley's involvement he's already on the phone with Klaus and I bet he's already found about the dead witches and the wolves being involved and there's only a matter of time before he connects the dots back to Hayley."

"This really means a lot to you," he didn't have to ask, he could tell in her voice and he was surprised that she hadn't already went looking for the answers she desired and then apologizing about it later which was her normal reporte.

"The only reason that I haven't already gone is because of my promise to you. I know how important it is to you that the witches don't find out I'm back."

"It's because I don't want the same thing that happened to momma happening to you. I wouldn't survive it."

"I know." She couldn't remember what it was like for them when they're mother was slowly starting to get sick being only a toddler then, "but she knew that it was something that would forever haunt him. "It's why I won't go out there if you don't want me to."

"No," she felt disappointed but she knew that no matter how much she wanted to find them, nothing was more important to her than keeping her promise to him knowing what he went through with their mother. "You should go. If anything it'll give Hayley more protection and keep you out of harm's way."

She eyed Klaus as he left. "When have you've ever known me to do that." Klaus car speed away.

"For my piece of my mind let's just pretend that will."

She smiled softly, "whatever you say big brother." She reached out for Sophie as she hung up. "Where do you think your going?"

"The Bayou," she tried to pull her arm free but had a trouble doing so. "I need to consecrate the remains of the dead witches before we lose the link to their magic."

"And if something happens to you something happens to Hayley," she let her wrist go, "and I can't let that happen."

"Well you're more than welcome to come." She knew it was the only way she was going to get there before sundown. "It's clear what Hayley and her baby means to you which means maybe you also care about the wolves. What do you think will happen if Marcel finds them first?"

She had already considered that and she knew the outcome wouldn't be good. "Go, gather what you need. I'll meet you at the cemetery." She needed to get Hayley to come along with them though she sure it wasn't going to be hard to convince her to. The Mikaelson had already proven that they couldn't keep her safe and it was better for both Sophie and Hayley to be with her so she knew Hayley was safe.

"You're going out to the Bayou aren't you?" Hayley had already been standing the door and heard the whole conversation.

"Yeah, and you're coming with me. After last night, there's no way I'm trusting them to protect you two. Even if I did, you'd probably go out there on your own. It's what I would do and with Agnes still out there I don't want you left alone."

"You're really afraid of Agnes aren't you?"

"I've seen what she could do. Last night was just one part of it. She's not going to stop until you're baby is dead. And I won't stop until she is," she turned towards the door and opened it. Hayley followed her out so they could meet up with Sophie at the cemetery.

She wasn't too happy to see that Charlotte had brought Hayley and expressed her concerns about Hayley coming along. "Already got assaulted by Klaus once today. Don't want a repeat of that."

Hayley blocks her exit. "The whole reason I came back here was to protect Hayley and to find my family. Now I know Marcel ran the werewolves out of the Quarter into the Bayou after he forced a witch to curse them. And last night, I'm pretty sure that some guardian-angel-wolf saved our lives. So either we both coming with you or the magic you're trying to get from those dead witches go poof. Your call."

She stares at the both of them clearly annoyed by their stubbornness rolls her eyes and sighs resigned to having them tag along. Charlotte kept her ears and eyes out for Marcel and Klaus. Hayley walks up beside her and she looked at her sideways before returning her gaze back in front of her.

"I suppose you have a lot questions you want to ask about the pack that Marcel chased deep into Bayou and about your family. I wish I could give them to but I'm afraid I don't know anymore than you do."

"How about we start with your name and then go from there?"

After a long pause said, "Charlotte."

"So what, you like my guardian wolf protector or something?"

She smiled softly at her word choice, "something like that. I made a promise to someone close to me to look after you. Only before I could, you were already gone and it took a really time to find you. My only wish was that I could have found you sooner. Keep you from being on your own all these years. Maybe you could have avoided all of this."

"We're here." They come to a stop where the witches were killed. Their bodies are all bloodied and ripped apart, and a dismembered head lies near the bodies. Sophie, who looks sick, kneels down to dig around her bag for the ingredients she needs to consecrate her fellow witches.

Hayley sees a huge paw-print in the mud. In a nearby tree, there are three bloody scratches in the bark. "Whoa"

"Is that a wolf track?"

They hear the sound of crunching footsteps nearby and Charlotte turns in the direction of the sound to see a white male with a thin lean built. He looks at the carnegie before him and then looks at Charlotte.

He gets scared and immediately runs away with vampire speed but Charlotte chases him down before he could far and tears into his neck with her canines and then drops him wiping her mouth.

Her canines were retracted and her eyes where it's normal shade once here. She watched their shocked reactions before picking up a nearby branch and jamming it into his heart.

She then turned to Sophie walking back to them. "whatever you're going to do, make it quick."

The walk back to Sophie's truck was done in quiet. They all had their own things to think about. Hayley chose voice one of her concerns to Sophie when they reached her truck that had been parked near Charlotte's bike. "Those people, all this, because of a vision about my baby you don't think is true?"

"Look, I love Sabine," Sophie began to pack her truck, "but she's the witch equivalent of a drama queen. I've learned to take little stock in whatever she says or sees. Just kinda wish she'd kept her mouth shut."

"The Harvest ritual," Charlotte sat on her bike as Hayley continued to ask questions, You said you didn't believe in it. Were you right?"

"No. I saw it with my own eyes. It was working. It was real."

"So, how can you be so sure Sabine's vision isn't?"

Sophie doesn't have an answer to this question.

Charlotte see's Hayley to the car and turns to Sophie, "get her home safe."

"You're not coming?"

She looks over at Hayley, "later. I got make sure there's nothing in the clinic that can lead back to you in case Marcel comes sniffing again." She taps the hood of the car as she stands up backs away as Sophie pulls away. She watches them from a distance and heads towards the clinic.

* * *

She shows up the Mikaelson's later as promise and gets greeted by Klaus, "Your ears must have been burning. We were just discussing you and the little excursion you lead out to the Bayou today."

"I was doing what I came here for," she glanced at Hayley who had come back to the room, "protecting Hayley. She's still linked to Sophie and after the two attempts on her life already I didn't think it was safe that she'd be left here with you."

"Brilliant job you've done so far, really job well done. I commend you on your gallant effort to protect Hayley and her unborn child. Yet I still can't help but wonder why you would chose to risk your life to protect hers."

She pulled her jacket down from her arm and turned to show them her back. "Does this answer you question?" She pulled it back up when she saw her point been made when she saw the look on her faces after seeing the crescent moon birthmark on her shoulder. "Hayley and I are from the same pack. Those wolves that live out in a Bayou are all that's left after Marcel had a witch's curse them to stay in their animal state, wolves"

Klaus was more than a bit skeptical of what she wa saying and had no trouble saying it, "and yet you here you stand to tell you take, care to tell us all how you've managed to escape such a fate."

"I have werewolf blood running through me, but I also have that of the French quarter witches too." The implications of her words, if true suggested only one thing. "My mom had an affair with a wolf. The witches killed her for it. They saw it as a betrayal to their kind. So you can only imagine what they think of me," She looked at Klaus, the one person who would understand, "which is why I know that Agnes won't stop until your child is dead. It's why we can't let them have Davina. They get her, they finish the harvest, and she'll never be safe."

"Why is Davina so important to the witches?" If what Sophie said was true, and Hayley had feeling it was, she couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to help.

"Because she's the last Harvest girl left alive," they all turned to Elijah. "Everything that brought us here to New Orleans was a lie. This story that Sophie Deveraux fabricated, this struggle for control of the French Quarter, this war between vampires and witches, wasn't over territory at all, this was over Davina. Eight months ago, Sophie Deveraux and her sister Jane-Anne lost everything. Now, four months after that, a young pregnant girl wanders into their restaurant. Suddenly, all hope is renewed. Jane-Anne actually sacrificed her life so that her sister can use you to find Davina. If Sophie Deveraux is successful in capturing Davina, she can return Jane-Anne's daughter back to life. We thought we'd come here to wage a war for power. This is about family. In order to return her niece to life, Sophie Deveraux will fight to the death. That makes her more dangerous than anyone."


	7. Chapter 7

"Can I convince you to stay?" Hayley and Charlotte were outside of the Michelson compound standing in front of her bike. After their trip to the Bayou, and the story she told about her mother, she wanted to know more about it and her. "I feel like there's so much I don't know."

"I can't give you any more answers about the wolves. I'm sorry." She had told her everything that she knew and couldn't give her much more than that though she wished she could. Finding answers was the reason she had came out to the Bayou. She discovered more than she thought she would.

"I was actually talking about you." She could tell her answer had surprised her because it came across her well crafted emotionless mask but only for a split second before the mask was placed back up. "I've spent my whole life looking for family and it turns out that it was looking for me."

"You have questions," Charolette certainly could understand that. There was a few things that she wanted to know herself. Mainly, she just wanted a connection to that other part of herself she hadn't been able to find. She just hoped that the wolves could accept her in a way that the witches never could. "I want to give you those answers, but now is not the right time. We have to find a way to unlink your from Sophie first and then we'll talk."

"Promise?"

"Yes," she said with the smallest of smiles her eyes flickering over Hayley's head as she saw Elijah step out. She looked back to Hayley and saw her shiver. "Now it go inside. From what I remember the temperature drops a little at night and even wolves aren't immune to the common cold."

Hayley turned to go inside spotting Elijah as she did. He stepped down the stairs as Hayley went up. Charlotte couldn't help but raise her brow at the subtle look between them as they passed each other and made a note to ask Hayley about that later. She had some other business to attend to now that Elijah was back.

"Rebecca has been filling me in on what I've missed in my absence."

"In your absence," Charlotte turned her eyes back to Elijah once Hayley was inside, "which is a way too polite way of saying that Klaus stuck a dagger in your heart, you've missed a lot. What to happened tonight was just the tip of the iceberg."

"Yes," he drawled out the s in yes further exposing his English accent, "it would seem I have, but what I'm most curious about is this business with Agnes."

She knew his curiosity wasn't actual curiousness but rather suspicion of her from him which lead her to respond with, "and here I thought Klaus was the paranoid one."

"Making sure that my family isn't dragged into another unjust cause isn't paranoia. I'd thought you of people could most certainly understand to protect my family." If what she said was actually the truth, is what she knew was left unsaid. Given what he'd just found out about Sophie from Davina, left him feeling a duped so he was bound to be a lot more cautious this time around.

She also understood that if she wanted him to fork over his mother's grimoire, there can't be any doubt in his mind as to why she was there. She needed him to trust her and if she could him to she knew she would win Rebecca over as well. So she dropped her defensive stance and let down her guard. "I do. Like I said it's why I came back. I promise you Elijah you don't have anything to worry about concerning Hayley or or your family from me." She hoped he could see her sincerity.

He didn't know her well enough to know if he could trust her at just her word and she could that. "I know you have your reasons not to trust me, but coming back her, exposing myself like this poses a greater risk to me than you realize. Agnes tried to do the same thing to me that she's doing to Hayley but I was much younger and couldn't defend myself."

Recognition of what she meant dawned on his face and she could see the doubt and suspicious he had over her true motives begin to slowly vanish. "It's why I came back and why I stayed once I knew they real reason she was here. I know how dangerous this town is for wolves and Hayley carrying your brother's baby puts her in greater danger. I can not watch Agnes do to her what she did to my mother, what she tried do to me. I was too young to protect either of us but I will not sit by and watch as she spills any more of my blood."

His eyes widen at the implication of her last words as he realize what she meant and he is eyes inspected her face looking for any signs of what she was being true. It was then he saw it, the similarities between the two. It wasn't just in their physical features in which there were many; the shape of the eyes, the bride of there nose, their cheek bones and the curve of their lips. Perhaps the strongest was the determination and fire that they both possessed. He understood now why she had risked so much to protect her. "You share more blood with Hayley than just by pack." He said for confirmation.

She looked down digging the toe of her boot in the ground for a few silent seconds and it was the first time he saw any hint of vulnerability. It was hidden the minute she looked back up. "I'm going to tell her than minute that this whole business with Sophie it dealt with so I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything. The only reason why I'm told you was because I knew it was the only way to get you to trust me."

The fierceness was back and the vulnerability completely swept away so much so that he even question if he even saw it in the first place. "Family means the same thing to the both of us and we'd do anything, give up anything to protect them. That's why I was hoping to get a look at your mother's grimoire. She must have a spell in there that will unlink Hayley from Sophie."

He wanted to ask how she knew about his mother's grimoire but chose instead to focus on how she planned on using it to unlink Hayley from Sophie. "This plan you have to unlink Hayley from Sophie requires a witch and I doubt they're going to be inclined to help with Hayley being their leverage and being forbidden to practice magic by Marcel."

"That's where you come in." He looked at curiously. "Do you think you've gain enough of Davina's trust?"

He understood why she'd asked and where she was going. "You wanna use Davina to unlink Hayley?"

"She's the only who can. It's like you said the witches can't help even if they could they wouldn't. Hayley is the only thing that insures they get Davina back and continues the harvest. We break this link not only is Hayley free but the witches lose their magic and Hayley and her baby are safe." She took a step closer to him making sure they he understands what he needs to do. "To do that we need that grimoire. You're brother would never trust me with it but you can get it from him. Do that, find the spell and put it in Davina's hands, I'll take care of the rest."

"I'll get the grimoire," he said with certainty, "you just be prepared to do what you need to do."

She turned to her bike grabbing her helmet. "We pull this off and Hayley is free. She swung her legs around straddling her bike and kicked up the kickstand placing her feet firmly on the ground. "As soon as she is, Agnes is mine."

She revved the bike and drove away.

"I thought witches practicing magic in the quarter was forbidden," Hayley didn't recognize anything on the counter as food so she and assumed that she was cooking up something magical.

Charlotte answered standing eye level with the kitchen counter so that she could get the right measurements responded with, "this type of magic," she looked over her shoulder and saw Hayley studying a stalk of Lemon balm before turning back to what she was doing, standing, "it can't be tracked."

She came to see where Elijah had gotten with the grimoire. She was let in by Rebecca and together they walked into the living room where Elijah and Klaus sat across from each other reading.

"So, this is what you do the first time we're back together as a family?" Rebekah asked upon seeing her brothers and Charlotte walks over to Elijah standing behind his chair. "Vampire book club?"

She wanted to see if it was looking over his mother's grimoire as they discussed and she was pleased to see that he was.

"Reading edifies the mind, sister." He looked to Elijah. "Isn't that right, Elijah?

Elijah didn't bother to look up when he answered, "Yes, that's quite right, Niklaus."

"And what's this business?" She gestured to the dead girl on the table and Charlotte looked up seeing her for the first time.

"This…" Elijah gestured as though he's searching for a word. She watched her blood drop on the carpet with slight interest before looking back down at the book. "...is a peace offering. She knew that seeing a dead girl bleeding on the carpet should have bothered her but it wasn't the worse thing she'd seen over the years.

"I presumed, after so much time desiccating in a coffin, that my big brother might be a bit peckish." Klaus said.

"And I explained to my little brother that forgiveness cannot be bought. I'd simply prefer to see a change in behavior that indicates contrition and personal growth."  
Klaus rolls his eyes guiltily, and Elijah gestured to the girl on the table. "Not this nonsense."

Klaus smiled as he answered, "Well, I couldn't very well let her go to waste, could I?"

"Well, I suppose I'll go fetch the rubbish bin, because she's staining a two hundred year old carpet." Rebekah stalked over into the kitchen and Charlotte followed her leaving the reading to Elijah.

"So what is it?" Charlotte looked over to Hayley who was spinning ginseng between her fingers.

She poured plant extract into a cup, added sugar and turned to her with it. "Something to help you relax."

She smelled it but didn't recognize any of the scent except lemon, "What's in it?"

She pointed to the plants individual, "Ginseng,-" red bean like plants. "Kava and Lemon balm-" both green leaved plants but with different shapes, "Ginseng helps prevent fatigue, and the green ones works as a muscle relaxant." She slowly sipped it. "It's the wonders of modern medicine but doesn't affect you or the baby."

She bottles the rest for later and begins to clean up. "I thought you could use it after the last couple of days you've had."

"What I could use is some food." She walked over to the fridge and Elijah walked in saying good morning. Charlotte poured the rest of the tea into a jar to put away for later and walked to the other side of the counter to clean up.

"Listen," Hayley said not finding what she was looking for in the fridge, "I know I'm the only one in this house that actually drinks milk, but would it kill any of you to make sure it's on the grocery list?" She turned around and looked at Elijah.

"Speaking of, add bleach." Rebekah stomped through the kitchen. Elijah turned to dig around in a cupboard Hayley pulls ice cream out of the freezer

"You know, I do hope my siblings were hospitable to you in my absence." He looked brought a bowl, a spoon, and a bag of cereal to the counter.

"While you were missing thanks to Klaus I have been attacked by French Quarter vampires, I've had to live in a house with a secret dungeon full of coffins, and I was nearly murdered by witches who are convinced my baby is Lucifer.

Elijah smiled sympathetically as he pulled orange juice and milk out of the fridge, pours Hayley a bowl of cereal, and then fills it with milk. When Hayley realized that they had milk all along, she looks slightly guilty and embarrassed.

"Oh... milk." She paused for a beat and Charlotte continued to silently watched their exchange. Hayley answered Elijah initial question. "They've been fine. Your siblings are weirdly protective, I know I have you to thank for that."

"I'm just happy to see that you're in one piece." He smiled at her and hands her the bowl of cereal and Charlotte realized she wasn't reading into watch she saw the night before. "So, back to the murderous witches. I have some concerns."

Hayley worriedly said. "They're evil. And, my life is still magically linked to Sophie Deveraux, which is not comforting."

"I think it's time we took care of that little problem." Charlotte finale spoke since Elijah walked in looking to him. "Don't you."

Hayley looked between them sensing she missed something and Rebekah suddenly re-enters the kitchen, dragging the corpse of the girl Klaus killed across the floor behind her. She said, "I am all for it. As soon as they're unlinked, we get to leave this crap town. Who do we have to kill?"

Elijah considered it for a moment. "Probably no one."

Hayley and Charlotte both gives Elijah a significant look of disbelief. Elijah rolls his eyes and sighs. "Alright, potentially everyone." He turned to leave and Hayley took a bite of his cereal.

"So you and Elijah?" Charlotte asked once he was gone. "What's going on there?"

Rebekah is scrubbing at the bloodstains in the carpet while Klaus continues to read "A Poison Tree."

"Poetry about poisoned apples from dead trees." She said. "Looks like someone's worried about impending daddy-hood."

Klaus shook his head. "Nonsense. Elijah's back. In his presence, all problems turn to pixie-dust and float away!"

Rebekah side-eyed him and grinning, and Klaus grinned back. Elijah heard them talking about him and joined them in the living room.

"Strange, I don't recall any pixie-dust from the darkness of the coffin I was recently forced to endure." Elijah opened Esther's grimoire and flipped through it causing Rebekah to ask

"What are you doing with mother's spell book?"

Charlotte walked in and saw him with the book, "find that spell yet."

Rebekah and Klaus exchanged a look.

Charlotte looked at the page that Elijah ripped out of the book. "An unknotting spell?" She looked to him. "That could actually work. Now all you gotta do is slip it to Davina."

Rebekah and Klaus look at each other in confusion. Rebekah being the first to figure out and was stunned when she said, "Wait, you want to use Davina to unlink Hayley from Sophie Deveraux?"

"Sophie brought us here under false pretenses. She doesn't just want us to take down Marcel and his minions, she wants to take Davina back. So, she yoked her own cause to ours with magic threats and half-truths. Well, no more. As of now, our deal with Sophie Deveraux is null and void."

Klaus and Rebekah smile at each other

Elijah started to dual out instructions. "Niklaus, I need you to come with me. I need five minutes alone with Davina. You need to make certain that I am not interrupted."

They were making a play to free Hayley she had to make sure Jaxon was ready to do is part. She turned and left with Elijah after he appointed Rebekah as Hayley watcher. Klaus followed Elijah and Charlotte out annoyed he put himself in charge.

"Where do you think your going?" Klaus caught Charlotte as she mounted her bike.

She answered with, "everybody has their part to play. I'm going to make sure mines in place."

She drove away from the Mikealson home and back the place she use to call home.

* * *

Jax was just wiping the cold from his eyes when she returned and found her searching through her drawers. "Late night?"

She glanced at him to see that he was naked from the waist up and only wear a pair of black joggers. She turned back to the boxes, "early morning."

He checked the clock to see that it was a little after ten. "It must have been a really early morning."

"Well we all can't be sleuths like you."

He stepped into the room. "What are you looking for?"

"The purple pouch with the gold string." She answered continuing to search. "The one we picked up from out stay in Mexico."

He knew exactly which one she had been referring to, "the one we were saving for-"

"Yeah," her face formed a smile and she looked at her brother. "I did it. I convinced Elijah to use his mother's grimoire. He's giving a page to Davina. As soon as she unlinks Hayley from Sophie."

"There's nothing stopping us from going after Agnes."

Her smiled brighten, "and with Marcel having the witches on lock down there's nothing she can do to us. This is it." She said excitedly. "This is the chance we've been waiting for. We can finale avenge our mother's death. Then you and I can take our place where we belong." She turned to her back. "I just have to find it first."

His brow formed into a frown as he thought about it and left the room. Charlotte was too busy searching to notice but she did notice when he returned with the very bag she was looking for. She snatched it from him, "you took it?"

"I couldn't exactly trust you not to use it after she came after Hayley."

She would be lying if she said she hadn't think about it. He handed it over to him. "You think you can get it ready by tonight. I wanted it to be ready to go as soon as the link is lifted."

"I'll see what I can do."


	8. Chapter 8

Charlotte left him to his work and returned to the Mikealson house. She didn't see either Hayley or Rebekah on the first floor and things were a little too quiet for her liking which prompted her to check the top floor. Hayley room was the first stop and is where she found both her and Hayley. Hayley was laying down in bed while Rebekah was sitting on the bed beside her.

She joined them. "What happened?"

Rebekah explained the situation to her ensuring her that Elijah was handling it.

She touched Hyaley's forehead. "She's burning up. We're going to need to get her temperature down." She removed her jacket. "We're going to need some cold water to keep your temperature down and her body from overheating."

Charlotte told her as she stood and left the room. She gathered up all the towels and washed clothes she could find and grabbed a bucket filling it up with water and ice. She returned to the room setting the bucket on the floor rolling up her sleeves and putting the clothes in the water.

She sat beside her and put a cold rag on her forehead. "This should help keep you from getting overheated." She looked over to Rebekah. "Can you go to Katie's shop. There's a few herbs in there that will help bring the fever down until Elijah comes back. I'll text you the list."

Rebekah turned to leave when she ran into Elijah and Sophie. Rebekah, who wasn't happy with the fact that she was there. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"I'm trying to help."

"Help! You're the reason we're in this bloody mess." She turned to her brother, "Why aren't we unlinked from this bloody with already Elijah?"

"Rebekah, let her do what she can."

"No." She looked back at Charlotte causing Elijah and Sophie to look at her too. "We've already got our own witch from that." She walked around them and left.

Charlotte stood up after Rebekah left. "I need to know exactly what happened if I'm going to help her. This weapon Agnes used. What did it look like?"

Sophie hesitated before explaining exactly what it was meant to do. Charlotte pulled out her phone with her attention still on Elijah and Sophie.

"Hey. I need you to drop whatever you're doing and get over to Saint Anne's. What you're working on will just have to wait."

She explained the dark object that Agnes used on Sophie.

"I need you to make sure Davina is working on that unknotting spell so I can do a small one of my own."

She knew Jax would know which spell she had been referring to because he'd seen it used and used it himself a few times. "Text me when you get there."

"Davina will since if you do magic," Sophie said alarmed once she got off the phone.

"I've seen the spell she has to do. It's going to take too much concentration on her part. She'll barely register it and if she does I'll be done the time she's able to locate where it's coming from." She wouldn't have run the risk.

All that was left to do was wait.

Jax stepped into the attic of Saint Anne's to finding Davina standing at the table with a twisted ball and the spell he assumed was from the grimoire.

She smiled when she saw him and he returned it in kind, "your back."

"I told you I would be."

After Charlotte's suggestion for him to get to know Davina so that they could get her on their side when the time came, he been using all of his free time, which had been a lot lately, to go visit her and bring news from the outside world. She had slowly grow to trust him like Charlotte predicted he would.

He turned his attention to the table, "what's this?"

"it's suppose to help me with controlling my magic but so far I've haven't been able to do it."

He walked over to the table studying the page ripped from Esther's grimoire. "It just take a lot of concentration. Close your eyes," he came to stand behind her resting his hands on her shoulder, "take a deep breath."

He pulled out his phone and text Charlotte that she could start to prepare for the spell she was about to do.

"Clear all thoughts out of your mind. Now try." He hit send when she started the spell.

Charlotte checked her phone when it buzzed and quickly hopped into action. She knew she'd only have a minute or two to do it before the window for Davina to sense it closed.

The spell she was about to attempted to try was a blood spell similar to a linking spell but this was created to eliminate some of the pain. Her grandmother had created it when her mother had gotten sick to help her through the pain. Jax done the same thing for her after she had triggered the curse and was going to start turning into a wolf every full moon. Of course, his bones didn't actually break it just simulated it.

She explained as much to both Sophie and Elijah leaving out the personal details and just told them what the spell was actually for as she prepared. It took less than the minute after she prepared for it to say it and when she was finished, she could feel her temperature rising. Hayley begin to feel better but she still had a fever.

"It's done. Now we just have to wait for Davina."

It turned out to be a longer wait than she thought and with that she decided to mix the herbs that Rebekah had brought from the shop to further aid in their discomfort. She had to have Sophie take over for her when as they hours passed their fevers had gotten worse even though they were connected and she had taken over half of all the symptoms.

"We need to do this now," Charlotte instructed as she felt her temperature spike and she knew that within moments the dark objected that Agnes used on Sophie would have done it's job.

Charlotte instructed Elijah to take Hayley outside to the pool. The water would act as a cooling agent until Davina worked her magic literally. Elijah and Charlotte helped Hayley in after they were in themselves.

Sophie hands them the herbs that she had mixed and they walked into the middle of the pool.

Rebekah stood on the side of the pool frustrated over the face that she couldn't help. "I don't see how a midnight swim is supposed to help.'

"The water, with the help of the herbs, should cool us down enough to bring her temperature down." Charlotte explained handing Hayley the herbal concoction. "Drink this." To Elijah she said, "you're going to have to get her heart rate down.

"How do you suggest I do that?"

"Hold her. It's a natural human remedy to slow the heart rate and reduce blood pressure."

"This is never gonna work." Rebekah said worried over it.

Elijah picked Hayley up and held her bridal-style in the pool and said, "Davina will break the link, we just need time."

Hayley clung to Elijah and groans as she gasps for breath.

"You can do this." Jax encouraged knowing they were running out of time. He placed his hand on Davina's shoulder. "Just breathe and concentrate." She picked up the knot with both hands and takes a breath before she begins the spell. This time, she recites it properly.

She whispered, "Phesmatos omnio lagares cordate...

Hayley begun to hyperventilating. "I can't breathe!"

Charlotte said stepping closer to them. She grabbed Haley's hand."Hey look at me." Hayley turned to her. "Just take long deep breaths and just focus on the sound of my voice." She lowered her voice to a whisper. You'll be okay. You'll be okay."

Davina continues the spell as the clock on the table as it hits nine o'clock. "Hayley screams in pain and thrashes in Elijah's hold as the knot in Davina's hands floats in the air and begins to un-knot itself. Sophie starts to gasp as the linking spell begins to lift. Hayley continues to groan in pain.

"Just breath through," Charlotte continues trying to soothe her. The knot completely unraveled itself in midair. Davina smiled and giggled in happiness and Jax smiles.

Sophie looked up at the sky, looking almost disappointed. "I just felt it lift."

Rebekah sighed in relief and Hayley starts to calm down, and Elijah looks stunned. Hayley stands up on her own, but still leans against Elijah, still weak from the spell. Charlotte made her way out of the pool. Now that the crisis with Hayley had been avoided and the link was lifted all that was left to do was to deal with Agnes.

She stopped by the house first to change out of wet clothes. She had hoped to of had it ready by the time she confronted Agnes but alas it wasn't meant to be and she wasn't about to let Agnes live one more day.

She'd just had to get to her before Klaus did. She knew he wouldn't let what she did go unpunished but she wanted to be there when he did. Her brother did too so on her way out she called him not wanting to leave him out.

Luckily for him, he wasn't that far off from where Agnes was as she was down in the sanctuary of Saint Anne's church with Klaus and father Kieran. He watched from the shadows as Klaus approached Agnes but ready to step in if he were about to kill her. He knew Charlotte would want to be there for that.

Fortunately, he didn't have to. Elijah stepped in for him and with Elijah was Charlotte. The last she spoke to her she had dropped by the house so he knew they've must have met outside the church.

Klaus pulled Agnes into a headlock and stands back as he watches Elijah walk down the aisle toward them.

"I gave my word."

Father Kieran stood up to greet Elijah.

"You tend to give your word at the most inopportune times, brother. We've been doing things your way all day. Come on! Just one little snap and it's "Toodle-loo, Agnes." She deserves it!"

"Niklaus, don't make another move. You have asked for my forgiveness. I will grant you that forgiveness, but do not make me break my word."

Klaus glared at his brother as he considers it. After a moment, he lets Agnes go  
"My noble brother, how was that for personal growth, eh? Still, it is just like you to spoil all of my fun."

Elijah starring Agnes in the eyes said, "Oh, not exactly."

He moved aside to give way to Charlotte.

"What's the meaning of this?" Klaus motioned towards Charlotte. "You means to scare her with an old ghost from her past."

"Yes exactly Niklaus," he looked to Agnes who have seemed to have recognized her with a bit of shock.

"Hello Agnes," Klaus turned to Agnes to see her look her eyes wide and filled with horry."

"It can't be."

Charlotte started towards her. "Oh but it is. I guess you didn't do a good job of getting rid of me on as you thought."

"I watch you die. We consecrated you."

"No you almost killed me. My mother's last act to protect me before she died." She grasped her by the neck squeezing hard but not enough to kill her, not yet. "If only there was someone there to protect you. Say hello to my mother for me."

"Sister!"

She sigh and turned to where Jax voice came from. "And that gentlemen," She let go of Agnes with a sigh and stepped back, "would be my conscious." She turned to him. "You really have the worse timing big brother."

He stepped up to her. "We wouldn't want you to do something you would regret."

She thought about it. "I really doubt this is something I would regret."

"A present," he revealed the syringe filled with liquid in his pocket, "for you."

She smiled wickedly holding it to her her chest, "and it's not even my birthday." She turned to Elijah, Kieran, and Klaus who watched on with interest, "he really is the best big brother." She turned back to Agnes jabbing the syringe in her neck. "It's just what I wanted."

She immediately started gasping for breath as it worked her way through her bloodstream.

"What did you give me?"

"The same blend of herbs you gave to our mother when you killed her. This one is just a little more advance." She watched as she begin to start wheezing. "You'll die in minutes instead of months."

Agnes fell to the ground as she struggling to breath. Charlotte bend down so they were at eye level. "You know you once called me a monster. Said that I was an abomination. I don't know." She looked past her. "Maybe you were you were right." She looked back to her tilting her head. "But did you ever stop to consider that you would one day create the monster you feared so much." She reached out and grabbed her by the throat constricting her air further and she began to change colors.

"Do you know what it did to me seeing my mother laying in her bed. Her cheeks sunken in. The color of her face gone and the smell. The smell had to be the worse part. It was like rotten skin and it was coming from her. She never lost her smile though. She never stopped singing us to sleep every night even when she could barely remember who we were. Do you know what that does to a five year old Agnes? To see her mother waste away, and you could do nothing stop it. That's what I had to live through because of you. I knew why it wasn't happening it to. Why my brother and I were losing a mother. Why my grandmother was losing a daughter just because of me. She tighten her grip and watch as her eyes begin to bulge, "because I was born!"

She let go and Agnes sputtered as she regained her composer. "You never really get over something like that Agnes." She tapped her temple repeatedly. "It sticks with you. Leaves a mark so deep that you can't see it but you know it's there cause you can feel it. You gave me that feeling Agnes when you took away my mother and my home. So anything that I do from here on out," she stood up looking down at her, "is on you. So get comfy while you're your on the other side cause trust me," she pulled out a knife and handed it Jax, "you're going to want to see what comes next."

She turned and walked away as Jax plunged the knife into her chest the poison taking too long to work for him.

Charlotte sat in the living room looking at the family photo she saw when they first arrived feeling two decades all she ever wanted was to make Agnes pay for what she did to her family and now that she had it didn't feel the way she thought it would. She thought that the feeling she had described to Agnes would suddenly go away but it hadn't and she still felt angry.

A tear fell and onto the photo and she quickly swiped away.

"Doesn't feel like you thought it would does it?"

Jax had been watching her from the doorway for the past twenty minutes.

"No. It didn't bring her back."

He came and sat down beside her.

"It's not that I thought it would. I just that I'd feel different."

He wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I know."

They silence was broken by the ring of phone and she leaned forward to reach her phone.

"Is she with you?"

"Elijah?" She couldn't mistake the accent. "Is who with me?"

"Hayley. She's gone."

Before she could respond she heard Klaus say.

"Marcel was here."

* * *

 **A/N:** It's been a while since I was inspired enough to write this so I thought I'd give you an extra long chapter which of course I had to break up into two different parts hope you like it. Until next time...

PS: HAPPY NEW YEAR!


	9. Chapter 9

Charlotte stared at the phone in her hand long after Elijah had hung up trying to process the last words she heard from Klaus.

"Charlotte?"

Charlotte lowered her arm as she answered his questioning concern. "That was Elijah," She looked from her phone to her brother, "apparently Marcel paid a visit to the house tonight. Now Hayley's missing."

"You think Marcel took her?"

"Not necessarily," she replied as she stood up, "she could have simple just left. Now that link between her and Sophie is broken there really is no reason for her to stay."

"Except a pack of wolves that she feels connected to." He knew it was her whole purpose of staying there and now that she knew that there was a curse placed on them by a witch at the hands of Marcel he didn't think that she'd just leave town and leave them to their own fate.

"Maybe," she stuck her phone in her pocket, "but let's not jump to conclusions before we know the facts."

"Well we know that Marcel paid her a visit and now she's gone."

"Elijah and Klaus will question Marcel and follow up on any leads that they get. We need to find our own. One that won't draw Marcel back to Hayley in case he doesn't know anything. Let's start with the last place she was."

Jax looked around the place the Michelson's called home since arriving in New Orleans but didn't see any signs of disturbance. "Nothing seems to be out of place." He had gotten to know the little crescent wolf well enough to know that she would have at least put up a fight but there was no sign of a struggle.

Charlotte spotted something from where she stood and noted looking at her brother, "the back door's opened."

They walked towards it together going outside the door. They look around for any signs that she had been out there was a sign of a fight of any kind. However, there was a few broken branches and a set of human foot prints that lead into the woods.

"Charlie," Jax called her over to show her what he found, "looks like Hayley didn't leave on her on free will after all."

"Can you tell where they were headed?"

He leaned down to take a closer look at the tracks and the directions they were going. "Looks like they lead out to the road," he said standing. "I won't be able to track them if they are in a car."

"But maybe I can," she looked at her brother, "or rather, the hairy me can."

Jax didn't like where she was going with that. "Charlotte."

"Just hear me out. We know that the wolves that saved Hayley and I from Agnes angels are connected to her somehow. Almost like they can sense whenever she's close. I share the same blood as them so maybe I can too."

"Marcel has been on high alert ever since his vampires died that night. What do you think will happen if one of them spot you. It's too risky."

She smiled sweetly at him. "That's why I have you. My superheroic super protective big brother who always have my back and has never let a bad thing to happen to me in his life."

"Yeah and you haven't always made that easy." She futtered her eyelashes at him still smiling, "it's why I know you're going to do it no matter what I say. So the answer is yes," he sighs reluctantly, "I'll keep an eye on him but the minute you get a whiff of her you change back do you understand."

Her sweet smile was transferred into a triumph smile, "Anything you say big brother." Her smile slipped slightly. "Now, turn around."

He sighed and turned his back on her while she undressed and shifted into her animal form. Jax turned around when he saw the last of her clothes on the ground. "Be careful."

She blew out puff of air from her snout and took off into the woods staying out of sight of humans. She stuck to back deserted roads so that she could blend in if she needed to and followed trail that she picked up on Hayley and another that was slightly familiar.

Something else she found familiar, the voices she heard not far in the distance.

"We should head south towards the water."

The voice was unmistakably British.

"You seem quite determined to find the little wolf."

There was no mistaken who those voices belong to.

"If I'm moving too fast for you, Niklaus, you're welcome to wait in the car." Elijah responded willing to treat him like a child since he was acting liking one. "I'll be

certain to leave the windows down."

"Ah, so I've touched a nerve? You've begun to admire this girl. Perhaps that's why you've been barking orders since your return, hoping to impress Hayley by assuming the role of family patriarch."

"If you're going to insist on treating her like a walking incubator, then that's your mistake."

She walked out from behind the trees in human from without a stitch of clothing. "While I would enjoy a pissing match between two of the most powerful vampires ever created on a normal day this is about finding Hayley so I'd really appreciate if you both shut the hell up and concentrate on finding her."

They were both stunned into silence and and she rolled her eyes at their expressions, "seriously it's not like it's nothing you both haven't seen before."

Elijah shrugged off his jacket and handed it to her to cover up with and she took putting it on and snapping it.

"Better. Now can talk about how we're planning on finding Hayley."

"At present moment I'd more interested in how'd you happen to stumble upon us and to do so while wearing nothing." Elijah said.

She gave him a look and a tone that was meant as a duh, "hybrid remember. Even if it's not the vampire kind, I can still control when I change. Plus like all the others I seem to be connected to Hayley somehow and it's easy to track her when I'm on all fours."

"Exactly how I like naked women," Klaus commented with a smirk.

"Cute, now if you're done with the questions can we go back to finding Hayley please."

"By all means," Klaus answered in typical Klaus like response. "Where do you suggest we start." He pointed to his brother. "Elijah thinks we should head south. I'd like to hear your opinion on the matter?"

"I don't know. How about we start with the suspiciously looking car abandoned in the middle of the woods?" She walked towards the green SUV with the trunk opened and Klaus and Elijah followed. Their was a blanket in the trunk with a familiar scent. She wasn't the only one to pick up on it.

Klaus picked up the blanket and sniffed it.

Elijah took that to mean that he found Hayley's scent. Klaus informed him that he hadn't saying, "but this vehicle reeks of someone I thought I was rid of…"

"Tyler Lockwood," she said catching the same scent to which she was meet with curious looks. She explained how she had come upon his scent when she tracked Hayley to Mystic Falls before following her to New Orleans when Elijah questioned her.

"By why go after Hayley?"

"I'm sure Niklaus can shed some light on the predicament." She turned to him. "Niklaus would you care to share why you're little sidekick hybrid from mystic falls have interest in Hayley."

Klaus lip upturned, "he wants revenge because I went after his girl."

Elijah knew his brother better than that and he knew that couldn't have been the only reason Tyler had traveled so far to go after Hayley. "Why do I suspect this is the least of your offenses?"

"Back when I had the means to sire hybrids, he was my first, Although, I didn't give him much choice in the matter. He was loyal in the beginning, but he grew insubordinate, turned my other hybrids against me. I couldn't have that, so I massacred the lot of them. Tyler ran like a coward before I could finish him off. Of course there was this business with his mum…"

Charlotte looked at him with the same incredulous look as Elijah, "Why am I not surprised?"

"He needed to be taught a lesson!"

"And what lesson will you be taught, Niklaus, if he retaliates by harming Hayley?" said Elijah.

"So you do care about her. Well, go on, then. Have at it, brother. Save her. Claim what spoils you can. I've sampled what she has to offer and let me tell you, she is exquisite-"

Elijah cuts him off advancing towards him, "Niklaus, so help me…"

Charlotte stepped in between them pushing them apart. "While I get your chauvinistic male egos are forcing you in the direction where men once grunted and beat on their chest to show their dominance, need I remind you that Hayley is out here somewhere with someone out for revenge who may very well have the intention of killing her or at the very least her baby. So I'd appreciate it you'd stop trying to compare whose dick is bigger," Klaus smiled at her deliberate word choice while Elijah looked at her with mild shock at the nerve that she had shown to speak to an original with such blatant disrespect. and concentrate on finding her before Tyler succeeds with whatever he has planned for them."

"Now that I know who has Hayley, I don't need the two of you. I can find Tyler Lockwood myself." Klaus then runs off in the direction the scent was the strongest.

"Not much of a team player is he."

"I'm afraid Klaus takes the term lone wolf quit literally."

She moved so that she was standing in front of him. "Guess it's a good thing you have me then. Think you can keep up."

He pointed ahead of them, "after you."

She smiled and ran in the same direction as Klaus and he followed.

She leads him to the encampment where she smelled both the scent of Hayley and Tyler but neither of one of them where there.

"She's not here," she noted and looked around where trying to get a sense of where she might of ran of to.

"But she was." Elijah comes outside carrying the ties she was bound by and he sees that they were cut.

Charlotte sees the dead body lying on the ground with it's heart ripped out. "She wasn't the only. The were definitely here." She stands up from leaning down at the body. "But if she did escaped she would have went that way." She pointed north. "It's plenty of cover and eventually leads back to civilization." She turned to Elijah who stood on the porch. "You should go after her. Make sure she gets home safe."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well this dead hunk of man isn't just a man but of a wolf. I bet he came from the same pack my father did. Maybe I'll get some answers about my father who he was. You know after I find Tyler and do to him what I'm sure he's done to this guy. Really a shame to kill someone that cute. It really is a waste." She walks away to track Klaus who she was sure was closing in on Tyler. She wanted to get to him first. Show him that it was a mistake to go after Hayley by making it hurt before she eventually ended his pathetic life.

Unfortunately she wasn't able to find him before Klaus did so she just settled for watch the two hybrids fight while trading insults at each other. Tyler really didn't like when he brought up his mom being dead. Seemed to hit a nerve.

Klaus continued to taunt him, "It's sad, really. I thought I made you better. Turns out you're quite the disappointment."

Tyler pulls the stake out of his chest that Klaus plunged into it to get him off him and throws it aside. "I guess I'm another one of your failures. Like how you failed at making hybrids. How you failed your family!" He approaches Klaus and smiles. "Now it looks like you're going to fail your own kid!""

Klaus grabs Tyler by the throat and pushes him against a tree. "And thus ends your tedious little life. At least it was brief!" He jams his hand into Tyler's chest and grabs his heart as Tyler shouts in agony

Tyler gasps for breath. "Do it! You're never gonna break me! Only thing you can do is kill me, so go on! Go on, get it over with!"

Klaus pauses and chuckles, "Ahhh, you want me to end your suffering, don't you? Hmm? I did break you! I took everything from you, and now you're begging me to sweep away the shards of your shattered little life." He stares at him for a moment, and just when Tyler thinks Klaus is about to kill him, he pulls his empty hand out of his chest and chokes Tyler momentarily. "Death offers more peace than you deserve. It's better to let you live. And each morning, you will wake knowing your wretched existence continues only by my will." He starts to compel him. "Now go, and live the rest of your days knowing that you are nothing to me."

Klaus lets him go, and leaves him alone in agony

"Well that was anticlimactic," She says as Klaus walks past her. He stops and she catches up with him. "I expected more of a fight between two hybrids. Surprised you didn't kill him though."

"What would be the fun in that. Lad's clearly much more miserable being alive. Thought that would be the ultimate punishment. "

"If he goes after Hayley again, you're ultimate punishment will have come to an end." She walked passed the dead wolf Tyler killed which caused Klaus to stop. She sees it out of the corner of her eyes and stops as well as he examines the body. She sees the look of surprise on his face and comes back to the body. "What?"

He doesn't answer but instead stands when he sees Elijah and Hayley approach and Charlotte turns around.

"I see you've found our wandering stray." Klaus spoke looking to Hayley. "Perhaps you could shed some light on the situation. "This," Kicks the body over, "appears to be a hybrid."

"Like a hybrid hybrid?" Charlotte asked him, "The kind only you can sire."

Hayley says, "his name was Dwayne.:

"Well, whoever it was, I didn't sire him. Any idea how that's possible?"

Hayley stomped toward him, "As if you didn't know!"

Elijah held Hayley back and walked in front of her to protect her from Klaus.

Klaus unamused said, "Ahhh, well, aren't you two fast friends? Oh, come on, then. What kind of horrible accusation have you conspired to levy against me?"

Elijah was the one to answer, "Tyler Lockwood brought Hayley here to test a theory. Klaus nods at him to continue. "That the blood of her child could be used to sire hybrids. He claims that you knew that. Furthermore, that you intended to use this knowledge to build an army."

Klaus hurt and angry said, "And, of course, you assume it's true. I mean, why else would I show interest in my own flesh and blood? A heartbroken little crybaby points his finger at me, and my own brother falls in line, eager to believe it! How quickly you believe the worst, especially when it comes from her."

"Oh, spare me your indignation. When have you ever demonstrated any kind of concern towards Hayley or her child, beyond your own selfish pursuits? And what was it you once said to me?" He impersonates Klaus "Every king needs an heir!"

"My big brother. So, you doubt my intentions? Well, I can't say I'm surprised, standing next to the noble Elijah, how can I be anything but the lesser brother? A liar, a manipulator, a bastard."

The two stare at each other as Klaus approaches him. Elijah seems to be reconsidering his position

"That's all I am to you, isn't it? And Rebekah. And, judging by the way Hayley hangs on your every word, it's clear she feels the same way!" He pauses, looking even more hurt "No doubt my child will as well."

Elijah more kindly said, "Brother, if-"

Klaus interrupt him, "You've said all that needs to be said, brother." He steps back a few steps and holds his arms out in defeat. "I'll play the role I've been given."

He turned as though he's going to walk away, but instead, he turns back quickly and vamp-runs over to Elijah before biting him savagely on the neck. Hayley screams in horror and runs over to him. Klaus wiped his mouth with his hand. "You two enjoy each other's company. You'll have much to bond over, once the hallucinations and dementia set in. Consider that bite to be my parting gift to you both."

Klaus walked away. Charlotte considered staying with Hayley and Elijah but reconsidered due to the mood Klaus was in knew without Elijah around to stop him he was going to undoubtedly do something stupid and he knew that it was going to come back on Hayley.

"Was that really necessary?" She asked as she followed him.

"I'm simply playing the role I was given."

"So you said, but you know you could always prove them wrong."

"Are you giving me lectures now? Have you forgotten that I was there when you so viciously killed Agnes and took pleasure in doing so."

"I'll never claim to be a saint. I'm not even certain I'm a good person. But what I've come to learn in my very short life is the only two people you can count on is yourself and your family. And what you just did to your brother, it's no wonder he always assumes the worse. And it's that exact reason you always end up alone." She left him and found her own way back home.

She showered and changed out of the coat that she had been in most of the day in favor for jeans and t-shirt before going downstairs and swiping her phone which she found laying on top of her clothes that her brother must have brought home when he came back. He however was missing so she picked up her phone readying to call him when the front door opened and he came walking in.

"Hey," she met him by the front door. "I was just about to call you. You'll never guess who abducted Hayley."

"Tyler Lockwood," he said before she could say anything.

"Yeah, how'd you…"

"Because he met with Marcel," he said walking to the bar cart he brought for the living room for nights like the one he was having. "Told him about Hayley and the baby and what her blood could do. What Klaus blood can do?"

"She will be nothing like Klaus."

"She's a Michelson."

"Yes but she also shares Hayley's blood. My blood. Which means we have to protect her, even if we have to protect her from Klaus. Who I'm not so sure knew about her being able to sire hybrids. Now that that Marcel knows..."

"He's going to go after."

"No. Not until she's older. You know he has a rule about hurting kids."

"Even if that kid could mean his imminent destruction."

She couldn't say for certain that he wouldn't but she knew she was going to protect that kid from him and anyone else who meant her any harm.

"That's not even the interesting part. It seems like Rebekah and Marcel have recondel their old flame. Marcel wants to bury Klaus in the tomb he keeps all his traitorous vampires. Rebekah looks to be going along with it."

"What's up with the Michelson's and their pension for destroying each other. First Klaus leaves Elijah in the swamps to suffer from a werewolf bite and now Rebekah is planning on entombing Klaus with the guy who cursed her nieces family and took over the city and didn't bother to even come look for her or let her know he was alive."

"Did you just say Klaus bit Elijah? So he has werewolf venom flowing through him."

"Yeah, but it won't kill him. It was just meant to make him suffer...a lot."

"And I thought our family was dysfunctional." He took a sip from his drink.

"The Michelson clan make's our family look like the Brady bunch. But they're still family and thanks to Hayley we've become part of that family and I have to stop them from tearing each other apart."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"I don't know." She wasn't sure if she could have the centuries worth of damage they've endured because of each other. "But I have to try."


	10. Chapter 10

Charlotte thought about Jax's question of how she was going to stop the Mikaelsons from doing what they do best when it came to their relationship with one another. Although it would be smarter for her not to get in the way of family drama, the life of Hayley and her baby as well as the city depending on them being able to stick together.

But as she watched the sun come up from her bedroom window, she couldn't help think that maybe her initial reaction was to prevent whatever Rebekah and Marcel was planning for Klaus from happening had been a little too hasty.

Instead of trying to stop it she should be thinking of a way to use it to her advantage. The plan to overthrow Marcel was coming along much more slowly than she liked and with Hayley freed from the witches grasp and Agnes was dead, there was nothing stopping them from taking back the city. Marcel coming for Klaus was sure to speed that up. She just had to make sure they didn't actually succeed in burying him. Him being in charge was the only way to guarantee that Hayley would be safe until the baby is born and after that she wasn't sure what his plans were for her but for now she was under the protection of the all mighty Klaus and she needed it to stay that way.

There was no telling what would happen to Hayley, the baby, or the wolves if Marcel did manage to put Klaus down. Thinking of the wolves lead her to consider the witches who needed to complete the harvest in order to keep their power. If she were ever going to free her family from the crescent curse, she needed their power to continue at least until Jax could figure out a way to free them. Jax was also a consideration that she had yet to make. Without their connection to the ancestors his power would fade and her brother would be devastated. She knew he still cared what happened to them even if they were the cause of their mothers death and despite what they tried to do to her; they were his family as much as the wolves were hers and he felt just as strong of connection to them as she did to the pack she'd never gotten a chance to be a part of.

Maybe there was a world where the wolves and witches could somehow find some peace between the two clans. Jax finding a way back into the french quarter coven and finding a way to free the wolves from their curse could go a long way to doing that. She was starting to think him helping them complete the harvest was the way to do it. And if the witches could accept him as not only a member but a leader he would be able to broker peace between their two families with their help of course.

"Please tell me you didn't spend the whole night obsessing over how to repair the damage a millenium worth of history has done to the original family." Charlotte turned away from the window to face her brother as he casual leaned against the frame of her bedroom door. She hadn't heard him walk up to caught up in her own thoughts. "Especially when there are far more pressing things that we need to be concerned about."

She looked at him with her brow raised in curiosity. "Such as?" There was a list a mile long of things to do before they were able to claim the families and city that had lost so she wasn't aware of which one in particular he was referring to.

"Agnes and her rather untimely death."

She walked away from the window as she spoke. "You mean the untimely death you bestowed upon her?"

He smiled rather fond of the memory, "precisely. It's left the witches scrambling. She was the last remaining elder of the coven which means she was the only one who could complete the harvest."

She sat her cup down on the white night stand that matched the bed frame before and sat on the bed with one leg folded under her, "and without the harvest they'll lose access to their magic." For various reasons she was conflicted on how to feel but settled with saying, "I for one wouldn't lose sleep about it. However..."

"You'll need their magic to free the family you've so desperately been seeking from a very nasty curse place on them at the hands of Marcel." He knew it was one of the goals she set out to accomplish now that Hayley was free from the witches control and Agnes was now resting comfortably with the ancestors. He also knew that ever since she found out the pack that her biological father belonged still resigning in New Orleans only cursed to stay in their wolf from until a full moon when they'd be human she would never stop trying to free. "In order for that to happen Davina would have to die and with Marcel keeping her on a tight leash…"

"There's no way to complete the harvest...Unless…" a thought suddenly struck her and she knew what she had to do, "we give her a reason to cut her leash."

A curious expression crossed Jax face. "How do you plan on doing that?"

She looked over her right shoulder at him to answer as she went through her draws, "by getting her to see that she can't trust Marcel. Once she realizes that he's only using her to keep a hold of the witches, she won't want his protection and with Agnes gone."

"She won't need it."

She smiled, "exactly." She continued to go through the draws. "Of course that causes a whole other set of problems to be dealt with but at the very least with Davina's powers, your knowledge of all things wiccan, and our family grimoires there has to be a way to undo the curse without an Elder. If not theirs always Ester."

"If we could find some way of getting Klaus to take yet another peek at his mother's spell book; how exactly are you planning on getting close enough to Davina dislodge her trust in Marcel?"

She smiles slyly. "By making a king."

He wasn't sure what that meant but he knew that he was about to find out.

"I just need one little thing from you."

* * *

Charlotte tracked down Josh who was at an auto garage at the docks looking at a few cars. She knew if anyone were going to know what Marcel and Rebekah was up to he would. All she needed to do was to get him to trust her enough to tell her what that was and when it was happening.

"You're Josh I presume."

"Yeah?" He answered a little weary of her which Charlotte couldn't say she blamed him for. He squinted into the sunlight. "Who are you?"

"Someone I hope you can soon call a friend when this is done." She walked around the car he had been studying for the last ten minutes. She looked up at him after she had walked around the entire car. "You looking to buy?"

"Yeah. If you're not going to give me a name how about telling me what it is you want."

She removed her glasses looking him in the eyes. "Klaus. Rebekah tells me that her and Marcel have plans to take him down. I just want to make sure that all goes according to plans. For that to happen, I need to know when and where it's going to take place."

"What makes you think I would know?"

"Because I know you're playing both sides. Now wouldn't it be a shame if Klaus were to find out that his little spy was playing double agent. Of course, we could avoid such ugliness if you'd just agree to help me."

"What is that you want me to do?"

"Find out what Marcel plan is for Klaus. I need it to be exact. I shouldn't have to tell you this but this stays between us or Klaus finds out about your double agent status." She handed him a piece of paper with her number on it which he too. "I hope to hear from you soon."

Jax was weary of her words and the chipper look on her face as she said. Nonetheless he agreed to playing whatever part in her latest scheme. Luckily, she intended only for him to visit with Davina and getting her to cast a spell or two on their behalf, unknowingly of course. Davina was more than happy to receive him and his help. She had grown rather bored alone in the attic and needed the company. Jax was more than happy to oblige her in both her desire to control her magic and to have a friend.

Charlotte tracked down Rebekah while she waited for Josh to call in attempts to persuade her out of helping Marcel. She still needed Marcel to go ahead with his plan at taking down Klaus she just didn't want Rebekah to be the one to aid him.

"I guess always and forever doesn't always mean always and forever does it Rebekah."

Rebekah slightly startled turned to her surprised to see her lurking about. "Tell me," Charlotte leaned up from the wall and walked over to her, "what did Marcel have to say besides whispering a few sweet nothings in your ear to make you forget who is and everything he's done to you." She stopped in front of her, "everything he's taking from your family."

"What the bloody hell are you going on about?"

She folded her arms refusing to backing down unwilling let Rebekah continue to deny the fact that she had been working with Marcel. "I know about your plan with Marcel; to get rid of Klaus. What did he say to suck you back in hmm? Did he play on your need to be loved and remind you of what a bastard Klaus really is?"

"Marcel needn't remind me of anything. Nik has stolen centuries of my life and cost me love at every turn. When all Elijah and I have ever done was stand beside him. Well no more. It's time for my brother to know what it's feels like for life to go on without him whilst he rots."

"Klaus tourmeted you for centuries stole both life and love from you. But this Rebekah, siding with Marcel. I get wanting revenge but Klaus will see this as a betrayal of the most highest form and it will make him mad. We both know what's he capable of when he gets that way and that never ends well for the ones at the end of his wrath."

"As strong and powerful as Nik is even he can't match strength with an army of vampires. Now are you going to let Marcel and I put an end to Klaus tyranny and save Hayley and her baby or are you going to rat me out to my brother? I would choose carefully if I were you."

"Far be it from to me to get in your way. Besides, I know better than to get into the middle of Mikealson drama." She relented. "It usually doesn't end well, for anybody including the third party. Though I do want you to be careful with regards to Marcel. What he says and does when it comes to Klaus usually doesn't match up. I wouldn't want you facing the end of the dagger because of some promises Marcel never intends to fulfill."

"You needn't worry Niklaus is the only one whos going to end up a dagger in his chest." When she turned around to leave, Charlotte stabbed her in the back with a steak breaking it off in her back. She fell to her knees and she snaps her neck and her body falls to the floor. She took her body into the basement of the Mikealson home where it was dark and no sunlight can get in.

She took of her daylight ring, "sorry Becks." She took her phone so that she couldn't call Marcel when she woke up and left her going upstairs. Klaus had just walked into the house and the look he wore on his face told her that he wasn't too happy.

"If you're looking for Hayley she's out in the bayou with Elijah tending to his wounds." He said to her once he saw her and she slipped Rebekah's ring into her pocket so he wouldn't see it.

"Can't say that I'm surprised."

"That Hayley's elected to take care of Elijah? Can't say that I'm entirely surprised either considering she was so eager for his return when I handed him off to Marcel."

"No. I meant that you would leave your brother to suffer the toxic werewolf bite when a small cut from your wrist would cure him." She said clarifying the confusion.

"Well he levied some very offensive claims against me regarding my intention of my child." He hadn't even known about what his daughter blood could do and now that he had he wasn't about to use it to make his own army of supernatural creatures using.

"Since the moment that you found out about Hayley and your child you've only been concerned with taking back the quarter not to give her safer home but so you can become king. Can you blame him for thinking the worst when the worst of you is all you've given him? You loom over them like a crazed dictator and yet every time you expect a different outcome. That is the very definition of insanity. "

"Who are you," he pointed at her indiginatly, "to stand there and lecture me about family when one half of yours wanted you dead and the other is confined to a life trapped as a beast? You wouldn't anything about family if it were staring you in the face."

She came to stand toe to toe with it. "Hayley is carrying your child. She also happens to be carrying my niece." The implications of her words cause Klaus to look at her in a surprise but also with a hint of recognition. "So I guess that means I am. Lucky for you, I protect those I see as family." She took a silver coin the same one that Marcel had used on Josh and his friend when he was considering which one to turn out of her pocket and placed it on the table beside him. "Even if it's from themselves." She left leaving the coin on the table and headed into the quarter after receiving the phone call from Josh.

She stopped by Saint Anne's church and gave her brother Rebekah's ring. "You know what to do."

He nodded and took the ring up to Davina to spell and brought it back down once it was finished. He handed his sister the ring. "It's done."

Charlotte slipped the ring on her finger and Jax grabbed her arm as she turned away. "Be careful."

She nodded to him and walked towards the abattoir stopping by a mirror to check her reflection to make sure the spell had worked and she indeed look like Rebekah. She was pleased to see that it had and once she walked inside the near empty place walking right up to Marcel.

"You're late." He said to her/Rebekah. "Not having second thought are you."

She responded in a way she thought Rebekah would. "No. It's about time someone taught my brother a lesson."

"Alright. Well I got word from my guys that Klaus is on his way. You remember the plan?"

"Klaus rots in the garden while we live the life we should of had a hundred years ago."

He lightly touched her face and she tried not to grimace or rip his arm off. She tried her best to look like someone in love and not like she was disgusted with him. It must have work because he laid a kiss on her forehead and she exhaled the breath she was holding loosening her fist.

She stayed put as she heard Klaus enter the courtyard of the compound to find Marcel standing and waiting for him.

"Klaus." Marcel said expecting him.

"You've been avoiding my calls."

Marcel explanation, "little pissed off lately."

"Apologies for my behavior can come later. You have something of mine. I want it back."

Marcel pulls out the silver dagger and holds it out. "Sorry, but I can't do that."

He instead holds out the dagger to his side, and Charlotte/Rebekah enters the courtyard and takes it from him. Klaus looks both amused and suspicious. "What is this?"

"Apologies for your behavior?" Charlotte/Rebekah said. "You don't apologize, Nik. You just act. I've had enough." She looked at Marcel. "We have had enough."

"Look at you. Finally in possession of the one thing that can take you down. How does it feel?"

"Great."

Marcel whistles, and a dozen or two vampires come out of the woodwork and fill the balconies

Klaus laughs sarcastically. "So this is it? The evil bastard Klaus has gone too far, must be punished. And by his own sibling, nonetheless. How positively biblical. And you, Marcel, is this," he points at the vampires, "your idea of a hit? I taught you better than this paltry excuse for a take-down. Do you think you can subdue me with this!?

"No. But I think I can with this." Marcel whistles again, and dozens more vampires appear and fill the balconies.

Marcel, Rebekah, and his vampires crowd around Klaus, who stands in the middle of the circle and spreads his arms

"Let's end this charade, shall we? Vampires of New Orleans! Do recall that I am an Original. A hybrid. I cannot be killed. Eternity is an awfully long time. How long, do you think, Marcel will stay in power? What if one of you lot were to release me, knowing I will be eternally in your debt? Oh, I would pity those of you who dared to cross me. I can assure you, your ends would be spectacular. To borrow a trick from an old friend."

He reaches out his hand, which holds a large gold coin. The same one Charlotte gave him and she tried to hide her smile. "Whoever picks up this coin gets to live." He drops the coin on the floor in front of him. "Now, which of you magnificent bastards wants to join me?

"Anyone wants that coin, pledge allegiance to Klaus. Take it now. Go ahead. The choice is yours." Marcel said. Charlotte/rebekah looked around and saw that no one except for Klaus moved. She could see the slightly astonished look on his face that no one picks up the coin. Marcel looks at him, proud of the loyalty his minions show. "Take him."

Some of the vampires lunge for Klaus, but he easily takes them out. However, when Klaus stretches his arms wide on either side, two other vampires wrap his wrists in chains and bind him. They attack him one by one stabbing him with knives and hitting him with various weapons they have. Charlotte touched the ring that not only made her appear to be the wear but was infused with magic. She looks to the vampires who surrounded Klaus as they back away as he loses all fight and the look triumphant for a moment, but Klaus' hybrid face comes out. She smiles as he growls deeply before breaking through his bonds and viciously biting and killing every vampire who comes at him.

Keeping up with the charade, she slips back into character and drops the dagger paralyzed with fear as she witches Klaus single handedly kill everyone.

Klaus yes at Marcel to come finish this as he started to attack more vampires.

Marcel desperately rushes toward Klaus, but Charlotte/Rebekah holds him back. Frantically she said, "No! Take the coin!"

Marcel shocked by her words asked, "What?"

"He won't stop until everyone is dead. And he will kill you too. End this. Pick up the coin!"

Marcel considers this for a long moment as he watched Klaus kill his guys before lunging forward screaming, "Enough!" Suddenly, the room falls absolutely silent, and the fighting stops. Marcel picks up the coin off the ground and holds it up

Klaus amused said, "Well, well, well. The great Marcel, self-proclaimed king of New Orleans, bowing before me."

Marcel throws the coin at Klaus' feet. "There. I hereby pledge my allegiance to you. You have the keys to my kingdom. It's yours."

Klaus smiles gleefully and so does Charlotte though she does so inwardly because she still has a charade to keep up until she can slip away and does when Klaus goes to clean himself up.

She returned back to the Mikealson manor to awake Rebekah and pull the broken steak out of her back. She left her a glass of blood for when she is able to drink and head upstairs to wait for Klaus. She poured herself a drink and sat in the chair with her legs cross why she waited.

He returned not long afterwards and Klaus watched her with a murderous look in his eyes.

She responded with. "Elijah's home. There's only one dagger. Which one of us will you be punishing today?" She sip on her drink watching him careful.

"I contemplated a game of eenie-meenie-miney-moe." He ran over to her and pushed the tip of the dagger into her chest but doesn't push it in. "You betrayed me. My own sister!"

"Well...not exactly." He looked at her in confused and she looked over his shoulder as Elijah walked in and then a staggering Rebekah.

Both Elijah and Klaus' face show confusion. Elijah took one look at Rebekah state and then looked at her and asking, "what is the meaning of this?"

Charlotte removed the ring from her finger and the spell wore off. She was back to looking like herself. She removed the tip of the dagger from her chest and Klaus backed up reeling from what he just saw which allowed her the opportunity to stand up. "Exactly what it looks like." She poured another drink. "I've been pretending to be Rebekah in attempt to gain Marcels trust thus leading him to come after Klaus."

"What did you hope to gain from this?"

She sat down the glass the liquor was in. "Exactly what I have. Thanks to me, Klaus is now in control of the quarter which means for now Hayley and her baby are safe. You're welcome."

"You couldn't have known Marcel wasn't going to succeed in his plans to get rid of me."

"How did you think you were able to take on a hundred vampires by yourself? You were outnumbered and severally under armed. It's why I had to go as Rebekah. I had to make sure you had the strength to win."

"That was you?" He asked slightly impressed. "The power that I felt flow through me. It was like I had the strength of a thousand men."

"I got Davina to channel some of my strength into you. Although she hadn't known it at the time or she would have never have helped."

"And this charade just so that I could regain control of the quarter?"

"We are all connected by the life growing inside of Hayley." She said looking around the room. "The very blood that flows through that baby's veins is what makes us family. Because of that, we have a duty to her to give her the happy life that none of us ever had." She looked at Klaus when saying what she needed the to understand because he was the one most likely to ruin everything.

"Early today I told you that I protect my family and because of Hayley and her baby you are apart of mine and I'll protect that until my last breath. I really hope the day will never come that that will include protecting her from you." She looked up making sure that both Elijah and Rebekah knew that included them too. "Any of you."

She walked outside to find Hayley sitting on the steps. She sat down to join her while the Mikealson had a family talk of their own she knew there were a few things that they needed to talk about. Hayley was the first to start. "So I know you haven't really had time to talk with me getting kidnapped and the witches trying to kill my baby at every turn. But I was hoping now that Agnes is gone and I'm free from the witches that you and I could talk."

Charlotte looked back at the house. She thought of running it by Klaus and Elijah first but Hayley was right, they were long overdue for a talk and she just wanted it to be the two of them for when they had the conversation she knew they should have had when she first came to time. She got off the stairs and looked at her. "If you'd like, there's someone I'd like to introduce you too."

Hayley looked back at the house as she debated on whether or not to go. It didn't take her long to decided and she got off the steps with a smile. Charlotte drove her back to the house and they got out of the car. "You said you wanted to know who I was." Charlotte said. "This is where it all started."

She let Hayley inside of the home looking at the pictures on the walls and table.

She picked up the picture of Charlotte, Jax and their mom. "This is where you grew up?"

Charlotte stopped next to her after turning on the air. "For the first six years of my life. My brother and I spent the next decade or so trying to find a place to call home."

"Unfortunately, we never really found a place." Both Hayley and Charlotte looked up to find Jax watching them from the doorway. "It's why we came back here. We had hoped to find happiness in the place that has caused us so much pain."

"You're Jax." Hayley said watching him as he walked in. "The brother?"

"And you're Hayley. The person my sister has sworn to protect despite the danger it posed to herself."

"Finally something we have in common big brother."

Jax turned his attention to Hayley. "Hayley, would you care for something to drink or some food perhaps."

"I could go for something."

"I'll go see what I can whip up."

Jax leave leaving them alone to talk. Hayley watched him go. "You're brother seems nice."

"Generally he is, until someone he love is threatened than he can become quite ruthless."

Hayley turned back to her. "Something else the two of you have in common."

"Would you like a tour while we wait."

Hayley answered with her hand on her stomach. "Sure."

Charlotte showed her around the three story house starting with the lower level working her way up going from room to room. Hayley asked her questions about what it was like growing up both in New Orleans and outside of it.

She told her of her and Jax's travels and what they had learned along the way. How hard it was for them growing and how they sometimes with days in an empty stomach. In return, Hayley told her about her life and they came to realize they shared some of the same story.

They were hanging out in her room when Hayley finally asked her about her connection to the wolves. "Oddly enough, my parents grew up together. A witch and wolf hanging out together, it's unfathomable now but back then the witches and the wolves were cordial. My mom said they always had a thing for each other but because they came from different bloodlines they knew that they would never going to be together. So they settled for being friends." She got off the bed and walked over to the window to finish the story.

"Of course that only lasted so long and so they secretly started seeing each other and they even talked about running away together. But they both knew that it was just talk. They both had too many obligations, him to his pack, her to her coven. There was no way they could live without either. His obligation to his pack was what inevitabile drew them apart because he was betrothed to someone else. It was his duty as heir to an alpha."

She walked back over to the bed sitting in front of her. "So like all great love stories they tragically parted. He starting seeing his betrothed and my mom she found a way to move on. He eventually feel in love got married and and had a daughter. She was thought to be the last living heir to the labinors after they were murdered. What only a few knew was that she wasn't the only one. That there was another. But she wasn't just a werewolf but a witch too. A french quarter witch a few years older than."

"So you're saying our parents had an affair. That would mean…"

"We're sisters."


End file.
